Powell happy with season debut

Former 100-metre world record holder, Asafa Powell, has expressed delight at his second-place finish and time in the men's 60-metre dash at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston at the weekend.

Powell, after winning his heat on a canter in 6.57 seconds, returned to clock 6.52 seconds in the final, losing to American Trell Kimmons by one-hundredth of a second.

It was a close race in which American Mike Rodgers was third in 6.53, and the top-six places were separated by only six-hundredths of a second.

Powell was marginally behind coming out of the blocks, but surged to the line in the fourth-fastest time over the distance so far this year.

slightly behind

"The race was really good," said Powell shortly after he arrived back in Texas to resume training. "It was my first indoor (race) in three years, and I really don't run much Indoors; 6.52 is great, and that's exactly what I was expecting from the first one."

The 32-year-old sprinter, one of the fastest men of all time, is among the best starters in the world, but in both heats and finals, he found himself slightly behind out of the blocks.

With Usain Bolt, Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and others among the athletes he aims to beat this season outdoors, the start is going to be one of the keys to Powell's race as he aims for times below 9.80 seconds.

Powell, however, is not overly worried about his start now.

"The start was okay. It was my first race for the season, so there will be some tweaks and adjustments to be made," he said.

The man who has more sub-10-second times than any other sprinter in history reveals that he has a couple more races lined up indoors, but said his focus is mainly on competing outdoors.

"We're not focusing on indoors, so training is still the same preparing for the outdoor season," said Powell.

The Jamaican's next race will be in Portlaoise, Ireland, at the AIT Grand Prix on February 18, followed by another meet in Sweden.