Asafa Powell is one of the greatest sprinters in history.  Sports writers will tell you that statistics don't lie.  If that is the case, seventy-odd runs under 10 seconds say that this man is as good as any who have ever walked the earth.

Powell first came to the attention of the athletics world at the 2003 world championships when he was disqualified for a false start in the semi-final.  The following season Powell was one of the gold medal favorites for 2004 Olympic 100m, after clocking sub-10 second times a record-equaling 9 times in a season. However, Powell finished a disappointing fifth in the Athens final.

The following year, he gained some consolation by breaking the 100m world record, in Athens on June 14, 2005, setting a time of 9.77 s.  Asaafa won the 2006 Commonwealth Games title easily but had to get through a drama-filled semi-final.  Powell then equaled his world record time on June 11, 2006 at Gateshead International Stadium with a time of 9.77 (+1.5 m/s). August 18 2006, Powell ran the world record time of 9.77 +1.0m/s wind for the third time in Zurich, Switzerland.