In his career, Asafa Powell ran the world record for 100 meters twice, but was overshadowed by Usain Bolt in the prestigious races.
Jamaican 100m world record runner Asaph Powell end his career.
Powell announced his decision on Sunday. He turned 40 on November 23.
“Chapter 40 and retirement. A new phase begins in my life,” Powell said, according to news agency AFP.
Powell ran the men’s 100m world record twice in his career. First I run 9.77 seconds in June 2005 in Athens and then 9.74 in September 2007 in Rieti, Italy.
Only Usain Bolt got to the same tenths of a second as his compatriot Powell. Bolt ran a ME of 9.72 in May 2008 in New York. After that, Bolt broke his ME time twice: 9.69 and 9.58.
Bolt dominated sprints almost sovereignly between 2008 and 2016.
Powell never won an Olympic gold or a world championship. In his career, he ran 100 meters 97 times under 10 seconds.
Powell’s top ten 100m average was 9.773 seconds. Powell’s record of 9.72 is still the fourth-fastest time in the world when only his best result is taken from a single runner.
Powell was on Jamaica’s Olympic gold-winning relay team in 2016 in Rio. In the World Championship gold teams, he led the relay in 2009 and 2015.
He won the personal World Championship bronze twice in the 100: 2007 and 2009.
Powell remained at the top of sprinting for 20 years. The last time he ran a race was in May of last year in Clermont, Florida with a time of 10.07.
In 2013, he was suspended for six months for using the stimulant oxilofrine.
“Now that I’m saying goodbye to the sport, I want to thank my loyal fans who stood by my side until the end of my career,” Powell said.
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