
Jeremy Wariner (centre) of the United States wins the men's 400m event ahead of compatriots Andrew Rock (left) and Darold Williamson at the DN Galan athletics IAAF Super Grand Prix at the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday. Wariner ran a personal best 43.50 seconds to win the event. - AP Photo
STOCKHOLM (Reuters):
World record holder Asafa Powell admitted he's not worried about the World Championships after a less-than- inspiring 10.04 clocking in the men's 100 metres at the DN Galan athletics meeting yesterday, which he still managed to win, overcoming a poor start to finish in 10.04 seconds.
The Jamaican only just edged Derrick Atkins of The Bahamas, who finished second in 10.05 seconds, with Churandy Martina third with 10.16.
"Normally, 10.04 is a joke," said Powell. "It was not a good race. I got a bad start but I managed to accelerate and catch up.
"(But) I'm not worried about the World Championships, I know what I did wrong and it's easy to fix."
Later at the same meet, Olympic 400 metres champion Jeremy Wariner ran a personal best of 43.50 seconds to equal fellow-American Quincy Watts as the third fastest man ever.
Only his agent Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds have run faster, while Watts clocked the same time at the1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Wariner, who defends his world title in Osaka, Japan, this month, told reporters the race was "pretty much perfect".
"I'm happy to get a PR (personal record) and it feels great to go into the World Championships half a second faster than all the rest," he said.
Cloudless, hot day
On a cloudless, hot day, Wariner relegated compatriot Kerron Clement into second place nearly a second behind in 44.48.
"The weather was perfect. I didn't feel any wind because the stadium blocked it out and the sun didn't bother me because I'm used to the heat," added Wariner. "If I run like this in Osaka, I can almost guarantee a 43.3 run."
Johnson set the world record of 43.18 at the 1999 Seville World Championships.
The time was a second stadium record in a row for Wariner, who was awarded a one-carat diamond for his feat. Last year he clocked 44.02 seconds.