RIETI, Italy (AP):

Now that Asafa Powell has lowered his 100-metre world record, he wants the one big prize missing from his collection - an Olympic gold medal.

"Next year my only goal is the Olympics," the Jamaican sprinter said yesterday, a day after improving his time by three-hundredths of a second to 9.74 at the Rieti Grand Prix. "I plan to race many more times before the Olympics than I did this year."

Powell has a reputation for falling short in big races, having never won gold at the Olympics or World Championships.

He finished third behind American rival Tyson Gay and Derrick Atkins at the Worlds in Osaka, Japan, last month. That was his first medal in a major competition.

Bitterness from Osaka

Powell was disqualified for a false start at the 2003 Worlds, finished fifth at the 2004 Athens Olympics and missed the 2005 Worlds because of a groin injury.

"This record makes me happy, but it doesn't cancel out the bitterness from Osaka," he said.

Powell did not face Gay this year until the Worlds and he indicated that he would like to race against his rival more in the run-up to the Beijing Games.

"I want to get used to the confrontation," he said.

Powell may not have to wait until next year. Both he and Gay are entered for Friday's Golden League meet in Brussels, Belgium Gay may run only the 200.

Can face Gay again

"Right now, I'm only thinking about Brussels. I don't have any other plans," Powell said before heading back to his in-season training base in northern Italy. "I have no problem racing against Tyson Gay."

Powell first set the world record of 9.77 in June 2005 in Athens, Greece. Justin Gatlin matched the time in May 2006, but the American faces a suspension of up to eight years following a positive doping test for testosterone and other steroids at the Kansas Relays a month earlier.

"Today, I ran like I should have done at the Worlds," Powell said. "At Osaka I was too tense, I was thinking about the race and the time I had to set. Instead here I was relaxed."