Allyson Felix Named 2007 LA Sportswoman of Year

Story by Eric.

American sprinter Allyson Felix was recently named the 2007 Los Angeles Sportswoman of the Year by LA Sports Council, topping a thrilling year in which the 22-year-old won three gold medals at the IAAF World Championships and was named an ESPN ESPY award winner.

Felix, who attended Los Angeles Baptist high school and graduated from the University of Southern California last term, was honoured in January alongside of David Beckham, the men's winner at a black-tie dinner at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA.

“It was nice to be an athlete from an Olympic sport and get that exposure and especially to be from Los Angeles and get that recognition,” Felix stated on an online diary maintained by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

“My only disappointment was not getting to meet David Beckham, who was named Sportsman of the Year.”

Felix's golden performances, along with her incredible versatility from 100m to 400m, also made the LA Sports Council's list of Greatest Sports Moments of 2007, though Los Angeles Laker forward Kobe Bryant was eventually selected the winner.

Bryant won the award for displaying excellence on the court in leading the USA team -- which included stars such as Jason Kidd, Labron James and Carmelo Anthony -- to a 118-81 victory over Argentina in 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The win helped the USA complete a 10-0 tournament and qualify them for this year's Olympic Games in Beijing in August, where Felix is also expected to compete on the track in her speciality, the 200m, and both sprint relays.

Felix demonstrated an unbridled excellence in her sport last summer, winning gold medals in the 200m (21,81), 4x100m (41,98) and 4x400m (3.18,55) at the world championships -- only the second time the triple has ever been accomplished on that level.

Marion Jones, who is banned two years from the sport for steroid abuse, was the first to win three gold medals, taking the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the 1997 World Championships in Athens.

Felix, whose 48,0 split is arguably the best one-lap carry an American woman has ever negotiated in the long relay, also managed last summer to defeat 400m star Sanya Richards at her own distance here in Stockholm, running a lifetime best 49,70 - the sixth-fastest in the world last year.

Richards had attempted to double up at the DN Galan, with the 100m contested before the 400m, but was unable to out-sprint her younger rival down the homestretch.

Richards, who, along with Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, won an equal share of the $1 million Golden League jackpot offered by the IAAF for winning each of a series of select competitions at 400m.

Felix's first senior international championships netted her a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens -- running a world junior record 22,11 in finishing second to Jamaican Veronica Campbell's 22,05.

Since that defeat, Felix, whose personal best of 21,81 helped enable her to repeat as world champion last summer in Osaka, Japan, is equal to the 12th-fastest female all-time, and has collected five gold medals in the five events she has participated in at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships.

Felix has only one defeat in 20 finals dating back to 2004-August-25.

The Los Angeles Sports Council, which is one of America's leading civic sports support organizations, prides itself on its unwavering support of track and field -- a sport which has had 137 IAAF world records set in Los Angeles, the highest total of any city in the United States.

The council held a poll in 1995 to determine the 100 greatest moments of Los Angeles-area sports, with Carl Lewis was voted 24th on the list for winning four gold medals at the 1984 Olympic Games. Felix has the opportunity to conceivably run in three more Olympic Games, with a 400m/200m double a great possibility in the future.

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:: Allyson Felix fact-file:

Allyson Felix was born on 1985-November-18 in Los Angeles, and is the daughter of an ordained minister.

Felix, runs for adidas and bypassed the NCAA collegiate system during her years of study at USC, where she majored in Elementary Education. She went straight to the professional levels from high school, where she was a stand-out sprinter following in the shadows of Marion Jones and Angela Williams.

Felix has run the fastest 200m time in world history for girls aged 16-19, and is on course to break into the top-10 on the all-time world list.

Felix is coached by Bobby Kersee, the husband of American- and world heptathlon world record-holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and utilises Renaldo Nehemiah, the former 110m hurdle world record-holder, for agent services.

Felix has personal bests of 11,01 (100m), 21,81 (200m), 36,33i (300m) and 49,70 (400m). Allyson Felix's homepage can be found at: http://www.allysonfelixusa.com

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2007 World Top-10 Lists In Events Which Felix Participated

100m

10,89 (+1,0) Veronica Campbell JAM
10,90 (+2,0) Torri Edwards USA
10,95 (+2,0) Me'Lisa Barber USA
10,97 (-0,7) Sanya Richards USA
11,01 (+1,2) Allyson Felix USA
11,01 (-0,2) Lauryn Williams USA
11,02 (+0,8) Mikele Barber USA
11,02 (-0,2) Carmelita Jeter USA
11,03 (+1,0)Kerron Stewart JAM
11,04 (-0,3) Tezdzhan Naimova BUL
11,04 (-0,1) Christine Arron FRA

200m

21,81 (+1,7) Allyson Felix USA
22,31 (+1,6) Rachelle Smith USA
22,31 (-0,2) Sanya Richards USA
22,32 (+0,5) Ebonie Floyd USA
22,34 (+1,7) Veronica Campbell JAM
22,38 (-1,6) Muriel Hurtis-Houairi FRA
22,41 (+1,3) Kerron Stewart JAM
22,43 (+0,7) Tezdzhan Naimova BUL
22,46 (+2,0) Lashauntea Moore USA
22,49 (+0,4) Simone Facey JAM
22,49 (-0,1) Debbie Ferguson McKenzie BAH

400m

49,27 Sanya Richards USA
49,61 Christine Ohuruogu GBR
49,64 Dee Dee Trotter USA
49,65 Nicola Sanders GBR
49,66 Novlene Williams JAM
49,70 Allyson Felix USA
49,84 Natasha Hastings USA
49,93 Natalya Antyukh RUS
50,15 Ami Mbacké Thiam SEN
50,16 Ana Guevara MEX

Stats: IAAF.org
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WADA Under International Fire

Story written by EPelle

WADA, suffering an apparent international rebellion by international sports officials over the current anti-drug enforcement system - one which is regarded by critics as harsh and inflexible, has been called upon to havemajor rules revisions, according to documents released Monday.

The Los Angeles Times reported today that among the international sports officials' main concerns is WADA's stance on trace amounts of banned substances which provide the same consequence as intentional drug use - cases which, the LA Times states, often impose identical penalties in either case (source).

The current system, the LA Times quotes, is "far too oversimplified" and can lead to "absurd" results according to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. WADA is being pressed to give anti-doping enforcement authorities around the world more flexibility and autonomy to reduce sanctions — or impose none at all — as they see fit on specific athlete cases where drug violations are found to be accidental or trivial.

The comments from agencies ranging from the International Olympic Committee and other agencies - including world-wide athletics national governing bodies - were solicited by WADA and collected over a six-month period as part of a checks-and-balances review process for the World Anti-doping Code, which was first implemented four years ago.

WADA officials have portrayed a united front in both its goals for drug-free competition and its enforcement methods, and it is not known how much influence the criticisms and proposed changes made by the officials would have on revised Anti-doping Code language when it is submitted for approval by the 36-member WADA board at WADA's annual meeting, World Conference on Doping in Sport, 15-17 November in Madrid.

Among the most harsher points brought up in the documents, sports officials have criticized WADA for two main issues: punishing athletes on the basis of unreliable lab tests and WADA's principle of "strict liability," whereby athletes are sanctioned for drugs violations when banned substances in an athlete's blood or urine sample are found at trace-amount levels.

"It does not seem fair that athletes who 'innocently' transgress the rules, strict liability notwithstanding, receive the same penalty as those who have purposely set out to cheat," stated David Gerrard, New Zealand's anti-doping agency chairman.

One area which has been of great concern to athletics is the three Carl Lewis "positive" tests from the USA Olympic Trials in 1988.

Pound, though not having been mentioned by name, was understood as having been criticized in the international documents for appearing prejudgiced of accused athletes who were awaiting pending appeals processes for their cases.

American Marion Jones was not mentioned, however, nor was her EPO test which Pound stated he would have re-analysed to the extent that he nearly crossed a line in calling the UCLA laboratory negligent for not calling the "B"-sample reading positive. Pound has been critical of Jones since her alleged involvement with BALCO - making it a mission to bring her to some sort of justice in the fight against dopers.

The LA Times wrote today that the WADA code has set strict-liability relief standards which are virtually impossible to meet according to sports officials.

One problematic area which is certain to come under fire is the degree which countries should be allowed to call a trace-amount positive and malfeasance, and when one has inadvertantly tested positive.

Pound considers the 1988 Carl Lewis three positive tests anti-doping violations, and has stated that Lewis' participation in Seoul was illegal.

United States officials took action into its own hands in 1988 when Lewis stated to them he had taken cold medication which later was found to contain a banned substance, causing him to test positive on three separate occasions before he competed in the Summer Olympics.

Lewis, who did not inform anti-doping officers of the substances found in his medication - violating a rule already set in place, was found to have born little or no fault/no negligence when trace amounts of banned substances where found in his system on three separate occasions - substances, he claimed, were from taking cold medications.

Pound has made no secret that he believes the USA is involved in cover-ups, especially when it comes to Lewis having tested positive for low levels of drugs found in the Sudafed he stated he had taken, and subsequently being permitted to participate in the 1988 Olympics, nonethless.

Pound, engaging the United States directly – one of his biggest targets in the fight against doping due to what can be perceived as cover-ups, sounded off in a New York Times article, stating:

“There aren’t too many people who are prepared to point the finger at America and say: ‘Hey, take off the [expletive] halo. You’re just like everybody else.’ That’s a problem in America. America has a singular ability to delude itself.” (blog link).

WADA has a load of issues to consider as it attempts to shore up its anti-doping efforts around the globe in an attempt to unify organisations' strategies and stances to combat doping - inadvertant or not.

Should they be oberseved as seriously taking into consideration measures and efforts to unify the world agencies' request without diluting the purpose for which WADA has been created, sports officials and atheltes may put more faith into the processes and procedures WADA has on the table, and will perhaps buy into a system which may seem fairer and more just than the current model.

Dick Is Still A Featherweight, Pound-for-Pound

Story written by EPelle

Dick Pound, the WADA big boss in charge of ridding the world of drugs, is in the news again.

Pound is up to his wits in his fight to ensure life for athletes suspected of doping will continue to spin out of control, despite some of the hiccups he has faced in his pursuit of truth in the matter of Non-Analytical Positives vs. certain athletes - Marion Jones included.

The New York Times ran an extensive piece on Pound today, entitling the article, “The Scold”. The article is very long - six pages - and discusses everything from Pound's strong hand against doping to his abrasive behaviour toward those who cover up those offenses.

Pound has made no secret that he believes the USA is involved in cover-ups, especially when it comes to Carl Lewis having tested positive for low levels of drugs found in Sudafed, and being permitted to participate in the 1988 Olympics, nonethless. Pound considers the Lewis affair one of an anti-doping violation, and Lewis' participation in Seoul illegal.

Pound, engaging the United States directly – one of his biggest targets in the fight against doping due to what can be perceived as cover-ups, sounded off in the article, stating:

“There aren’t too many people who are prepared to point the finger at America and say: ‘Hey, take off the [expletive] halo. You’re just like everybody else.’ That’s a problem in America. America has a singular ability to delude itself.”

Pound was also featured in an article in Wired Magazine on 28-December-2006 entitled “The Righteous Fury of Dick Pound.”

There, Pound was portrayed as a one-man crusader who has made several enemies along the course of trying rid sports of drugs.

"It's confrontation," Pound says about his style.

"You're confronting a problem: People agree to certain rules of the game and then deliberately break them. You can't finesse it or isolate it or surround it. You have to confront it."

His critics disagree. To them, the problem isn't the rules, it's the enforcer.

"If Dick Pound is saying, 'I'm going to be an advocate in these cases,' then athletes start to wonder, 'Am I even going to get a fair hearing here?'" said Howard Jacobs in the article. Jacobs is an attorney who has represented several athletes including Marion Jones in her "A"-sample positive/"B"-sample negative case this past summer.

"When you have the head of WADA passing judgment on pending cases, whatever the intention is, certainly people can question whether one of the goals is to signal to arbitrators how you expect the results to come out."

Pound dismisses these complaints.

"I'm not getting much criticism from athletes who aren't using drugs. I'm getting it from the folks who either have been caught, are representing those who have been caught, or are representing organizations who don't want to admit that there's a problem."

There is no shortage of Pound-bashing around the internet world, nor from journalists willing to pen their names next to long articles portraying him as a man from the wild west. He's made himself out to be a tyrant of sorts, with his main goal in the latter stages of 2006 to rid the sport once-and-for-all of Jones.

Marion Jones found a temporary reprieve from WADA's outstretched arm by having her “B”-sample drugs test findings demonstrate levels inconsistent with her initial “A-sample” findings, thus eliminating her from the charges of performance-enhancing drugs use – but not removing her from any of the allegations. The reprieve seems to be nothing more than a personal satisfaction of having the law, and the upholding of it, on her side, as Pound continues on in search for answers in the case.

For those of you new to WADA - the World Anti-Doping Agency - WADA has an annual budget of $22 million and oversees the drug testing done by all of the world’s sports federations. WADA finances research for measures to stay catch up – and get ahead – of the BALCOs of the world, or those who attempt to beat the drug testing system. The International Olympic Committee established WADA in 1999 to bring together world-wide efforts to rid sports under the IOC umbrella of drugs and cheats.

WADA also credentials a network of drug-testing laboratories around the world – including the laboratory at UCLA, and conducts some of its own drug-testing of athletes. WADA also updates its list of prohibited substances in several publications as well as its home page, a list which 191 countries around the world have accepted as the binding Anti-Doping Code.

Pound has taken his role with absolute authority, ensuring the WADA mission of cleaning up drugs in sport is carried out to the greatest legal extent possible. He's been going full thrust ahead at athletes like Jones, because there are greatly circumstantial evidences against her which demonstrate she has been involved with performance-enhancing drugs, and he wants to net one of the sport's biggest fish from the nation he believes is most palpable in hiding away doped athletes.

This is not to be mis-interpreted as stating Jones took drugs, rather it is merely to establish that under oath provided by others whose testimonies have not been deemed to have been perjury, she is directly linked to drugs.

Pound has butted heads with Jones over this cleansing process.

Both Pound and Jones resemble two rams with very determined agendas and significant will-power spearing each other on to cripple and render ineffective the other. Jones may have been provided breathing room from Pound, but appearances – as folks have witnessed on so many occasions – can be deceiving.

Pound may (or not) deserve the attention he’s bringing upon himself, being construed as a brash, take no prisoners dictator. He’s become a master of quotes, and as much as he speaks, journalists continue to write. His goal, he states, is to keep sport clean. He believes in clean sport, but has less belief in athletes.

“Here’s the deal,” he says. “The shot-put weighs this much. The race is so many laps long. You can’t hollow out your shot-put and make it 12 pounds instead of 16. You don’t start before the gun. Run 11 laps instead of 12. And part of the deal is don’t use these drugs. It’s kind of an affirmation when you show up at the starting line. You are making an affirmation that you are playing the game the way it is supposed to be played.”

Pound may have justice on his side as far as world-wide disciplining is concerned. One question which arises, however, is what kind of fingerprint he wants to leave on the sport of athletics.

Pound has an opportunity to help rid the sport of cheats and uncover the other BALCO types out there, namely other lines of chemists, coaches, athletes and trainers who are involved in doping schemes hidden to the outer circle looking in. However, if he continues pressing on at all costs in a solo fashion - destroying chains of command in the process - folks will be less than willing to point him in the right direction.

Sport, according to the ancient Greek tradition, was broken down into two elements within the participants: the harmonious development of mind of body - agon, if you will, and arête - the conscious ideal of perfection.

Athletics - along with other sports within the Olympic movement - can be restored to a more even playing ground where athletes are competing clean over time, and the harmony between the pursuers and those pushing the envelop to cheat is smoothed out. As more wisdom is applied to the fight against doping, and athletes are held even more accountable for their crimes against the sport, fans can appreciate sport for what it is: entertainment and excellence.

In order to effect this change - where mind and body develops naturally in the absence of drugs, Dick Pound would be of better service if he continues his fight quietly - away from the headlines - and not create a perception of being a one-man show. If he can accomplish this, I believe people would come to trust WADA over time. If he is unsuccessful, and his desire to stand at the centre can not be quashed, folks will lose faith in the organisation as a whole - when it is Pound with whom they have their disagreement.

Does One Ever Simply Walk Away?

Story written by EPelle

Carl Lewis retired from athletics in 1997, and has since been steadily involved in several personal pursuits, including acting and singing - passions he says he's had for the past 20 years.

He also has an interest in politics.

The Daily Yomiuri ran an article on Lewis today as one of their reporters caught up with Lewis in Japan where Lewis was on location for a television special.

The article takes the reader into Lewis' current life - one where he juggles interests in stardom away from the track, and completely away from the field.

This is the second of articles I've come across in the past four weeks in which Lewis makes a very concerted effort to distance himself from the sport at all costs.

One doesn't need much reminder of how dominant Lewis was on the world scene - his record speaks of itself.

Two of his most remarkable feats were in Lewis not having lost a long jump competition for a decade - winning 65-consecutive competitions, and winning four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, equaling the 1936 accomplishment of his hero, Jesse Owens. Lewis took home Olympic titles in the 100m (9,99), 200m (19,80 Olympic Record), long jump (8.54m/28-0,25)and 4x100m (37,83 World Record).

Two more notables on his long list of accomplishments were his setting a world record (9,86) in the 100 meters at the 1991 IAAF World Championships in Tokyo - his third-straight individual 100m crown, and being part of the greatest long jump competition ever contested, finishing second to American Mike Powell's world-record jump in the same meet - 8,95 to 8,91w.

There are no parallel's between Lewis' accomplishments and any other sprinter in modern day history.

Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly wrote about Lewis in 1996 following Lewis last Olympic medal - his fourth-straight long jump gold, stating "Lewis beat age, gravity, history, logic and the world at a rocking Olympic Stadium in Atlanta to win the Olympic gold medal in the long jump. It was quite possibly his most impossible moment in an impossibly brilliant career."

A career which Lewis seems very reluctant to remember, and apparently one which he wants the world to move past.

Lewis, a nine-time Olympic gold medalist, has found little time for athletics - though Lewis had recently launched a program to develop elite athletes. He was asked about his thoughts on the upcoming World Championships.

"What do you expect in Osaka next year?"

Lewis, continuing to keep the focus off his career, answered as such:

"It's interesting because I've been far, far away from the world of athletics. Since my retirement I've not been to one worlds, one nationals or any major meets. So I think it will be interesting and right now I'm still in the process to see whether I'm going to be there or not.

"But I've really chosen to stand back from the sport quite a lot since my retirement. And it was my choice.

"I have a new program called the "Carl Lewis' Elite Athletes Program" that will get me back involved in the sport. But just from putting together a team of coaches and staff people that can work with athletes, but we'll see if I'm going to be back involved there. Of course I hope the best and expect it to do very well because the Japanese people know how to do it. But I've just been so far removed from it, it's just hard for me to make a comment at this point."

I've been perplexed about Lewis' backdoor position, as it seems he has left a long legacy in the sport, but wants no business giving back to it on an elite level. He's done his, and has turned his focus onward.

He's creating an image of being nonchalant toward the sport - even when dicussion turns to drug use and cheating.

Ken Tamura, the reporter who met with Lewis in Japan, asked Lewis about why Ben Johnson had cheated. Lewis said Johnson did it, because he wasn't good enough. Lewis went on to say that people decide to cheat, because they want to be good enough.

When asked about how Lewis reacted to Justin Gatlin testing positive this summer, Lewis stated he didn't remember much of what had happened, stating, "I just saw the paper probably just like 90 percent of all of the people. Very disappointed because I'm tired of people cheating. If that's where it is, do the right thing. He talked a good game. As he was speaking out against drugs, he was taking drugs. It's very frustrating."

However, Lewis is shown on an ESPN special video late in the summer talking about Gatlin and Marion Jones not having to shoulder the blame alone in their recent doping scandals, stating that, instead, the athletes coaches are also in the wrong. He also chimed in and stated that running under 9,80 seconds in the 100m was unrealistic - an oddity, because he stated he never follows the sport.

Regardless of Lewis' involvement with the sport, his is still a voice which resonates far when one discusses steroids in athletics, and Lewis sees several ways the sport can be cleaner.

He had a chat with the Palisadian-Post about that topic on 28-September.

"There are three things that need to happen. First and foremost, athletes need to speak up about it. Otherwise, they may as well stop testing. Secondly, every athlete who tests positive needs to be investigated thoroughly. Thirdly, the federations that conduct the tests and institute the laws need to be held accountable. But it needs to start with the athletes themselves. "

I have no trouble with Lewis the athletics chapter in his life. He doesn't owe it to anyone to live in the past and dwell on how great life used to be. I wish him the best as he strives to make more of his life outside of athletics either as an actor, a mentor or a politician. He is striving to help rid the world of AIDS, and he wants to stop wars from occuring around the globe among other noble things.

However, I feel as though Lewis - by creating this atmosphere of being twice removed from his first love - has not gotten away from that image he portrayed during his career, namely one of being haughty and arrogant, cold and calculating, aloof and abrasive. His intentions may serve greater goods, but his style seems to lack the sharpening needed to be a leader.

Lewis performed in an era when athletics could not assure an athelte could earn substantial amounts of appearance fees and bonus money - it was a sport for "amateurs" and earnings were abismal. Many believe that Lewis' current blind eye to the sport is not for lack of interest in sprinting and records, but for being forgotten by the system for which he believes he was a catalyst.

He's currently involved in The Carl Lewis Foundation to help promote self-esteem in inner-city kids through sports and other programmes, and this may be one viable way for him to give back to the sport which has given so much to him. Children and at-risk teens may look up to him as a role model and a person of authority, giving Lewis 15 minutes of respect he missed out after his first Olympic experience.

However, being completely fair to his cause, I would like to point out that Lewis is thinking about some day running for office. He has a very keen interest in the No Child Left Behind Program, as he is quoted below from a 29-September Sports Illustrated article.

"Why do less than half the schools in America have P.E. as an elective? Why are we taking money out of schools and programs and then complaining about them?" he asks. "I mean, no child left behind? That means every child is not mine. They don't care about the basic kids in America. They create programs that are under funded. I just saw a report today that pissed me off. Do you know in order to get No Child Left Behind funds you have to allow the government to come in and recruit for the military?"

Lewis has been stated in the past to have lacked humilty. Perhaps one long discussion on the state of track and world affairs, his impact on the sport and a conscious effort by supporters to try understanding his movement into a possible political role may draw back his stiff, outstretched arm from the cold.

"I just think its ridiculous what we do," he said to Sports Illustrated.

"How politics and elections can get twisted, especially the 2004 election. It was ridiculous; all this patriotism and all this crap. Give me a break. I mean, Americans love their country, how dare anyone say you're anti-American if you don't support the invasion. I had "USA" on my chest. If somebody tells me I'm not American they haven't been out of their trailer. I mean, I'm sorry. If people think I'm un-American for my beliefs, they can go to hell. I had USA on my chest. I represented this country and they only know one zip code."

Until we're able to climb up to Lewis' postal code and talk "real life" instead of track, we know what to expect next time Lewis is asked to open up his mouth about athletics. All I can do personally is wish him all the best as he moves on forward one pursuit at a time.

Powell Considering Osaka Double

Story written by EPelle

Eurosport announced today that Asafa Powell may consider doubling up at the 2007 IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Osaka, a move which, if it comes to pass, can provide more fireworks and excitement than a potential 100m final against the strong Americans and our best Europeans.

Powell has single-handedly shot up and away as the premiere athlete in the sport's most glamorous event, the 100m dash.

He may take on more than he can chew up next year in the 200m, however, with a world championships final likely featuring Americans Tyson Gay, Xavier Carter and Wallace Spearmon along with Powell's Jamaican countryman, Usain Bolt flanking him on either side on. Portugal's Francis Obikwelu - the 2006 European Champion - and France's Ronald Pognon - the European Junior (2001) and U23 (2003) 100m champion, and a member of France’s World Championship winner 4x100m squad in Helsinki 2005 - could also be part of what can conceivably be the greatest sprint final in the history of any championship event.

When Michael Johnson set his world record time of 19,32 in Atlanta 10 years ago, many of the most long-time, hardcore fans swore no athlete in their lifetimes would ever come close enough to even see the mountaintop upon which Johnson's mark was perched. It was outer-worldly, and bordered on absurd. Johnson smashed by 0,33-seconds his own previous best and newly-minted World Record of 19,66 he ran on the same track five weeks earlier at the USA Olympic Trials. That mark had eclipsed the 19,72A Pietro Mennea ran in Mexico City some 17 years earlier. Frank Fredricks (19,68), the only other athlete at the time to ever break 19,70, did so in finishing a distant second to Johnson in Atlanta, running the third-fastest legal time ever recorded.

Johnson never approached that god-like status again, but did set a 400m World Record the following year in Sevilla. Johnson ran a 19,71A in an altitude-assisted race in Pietersburg in the next Olympic year.

Fast-forward your clocks 10 years from that magical night in Atlanta when the world stood still.

This year was a phenominal year for 200m sprinting by the Americans, as collegiate standout Carter ran history's 2nd-fastest time, 19,63, in his first professional effort over the distance in Lausanne. No fewer than four times did his countryman Gay break 19,86, capped by his =5 All-Time 19,68 in Stuttgart in September. A third American, Spearmon, wound up the 2nd-fastest athlete of the season with a 19,65 in Daegu, the 3rd-best ever over the distance, and a race he won by more than a second!

Bolt set a personal best with a 19,88-second clocking in Lausanne, finishing behind both Carter and Gay, who turned in a 19,70.

Powell would like emulate over 100m in 2007 what he did in 2006 - a feat which will be a very tough act to follow.

Powell put together what could be seen as the most impressive sprinting ever in the history of the sport in 2006, and intends on running exceptionally consistent at 100m, and using his base over 400m to contribute to faster 200m times next season.

If he can remain healthy and overcome what could possibly be tired legs after his double heats and rounds, he can push, pull or run even with I believe will be the greatest group of athletes ever assembled for any race - distance notwithstanding. The result could be one or several of the top eight times ever recorded wiped away from the record books.

Powell ran no fewer than 10 times under 10,00 seconds in 2006 - a season which saw him twice equal his 2005 world record of 9,77 seconds, and dip under 20,00 with a 19,90 victory in Kingston. He was undefeated over 100m/200m, and was a co-winner of the 2006 IAAF Golden League $1.000.000 jackpot. Powell has amassed 25 sub-10,00 clockings in his brief career - all of them set after 2003, and is in sole possession of the number of sub-9,90 times ever recorded with 11.

The USA's Maurice Greene tops the list of all-time sub-10,00 clockings at 52, and is 2nd to Powell in the sub-9,90 category at 10. Powell is the 14th entrant on the famous sub-10,00/sub-20,00 club - a comparison to an MLB 40 HR/40 SB list. Carl Lewis was the first entrant, accomplishing the feat in 1983.

One great means of measuring a man's success on the track is how many medals he was won despite his swift feet or strong hands.

Powell has one major individual championship medal to his name - a Commonwealth Games gold he picked up in the spring. He has one monkey off his back, and, by winning every single Golden League competition in front of all comers, he can finally be seen as the threat to claim championship gold.

Should Powell be able to stay aboard a course which doubles his duties in Japan, he - along with Gay and Spearmon (provided they make their USA squad) - will have an off-day before having four 200m races in three days. Powell will need it insofar as he has never before demonstrated he has the strength to last six races - three of which are double-day racing schedules - before a 200m final. If he makes it through the rounds and is in the final with any sense of hunger left in his body, his presence alone could help this race be one for the ages, and one to rival the last World Championships held in Japan.

Japan is no stranger to the history book, with Lewis running a WR 9,86 in the 100m and Mike Powell jumping a WR 8,95 (+0,3 m/s) the last time the IAAF World Championships were held there (1991).

All eyes will follow Powell up from the blocks and down one straight away for the right to be declared the world's fastest man. Should he successfully gain that crown, expectations for the world's fastest sprinter will double as he seeks to out-duel the hungry Americans.

Stay tuned for plenty of updates from now through August 2007.