Asafa Powell (left) of Jamaica stops running due to an injury during the men's 200 metres final at the Super Track and Field meet in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, yesterday. - REUTERS

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters):

Jamaica's Asafa Powell pulled up with a hamstring injury during the men's 200 metres at the season-ending Super Track and Field meeting yesterday.

The 100m world record holder limped off the track clutching his left leg in agony after feeling a twinge coming off the bend in wet and cold conditions in Yokohama.

"Asafa's in a lot of pain right now," Powell's manager Paul Doyle told reporters.

"He felt a pain in his hamstring. It would indicate some kind of tear probably a minor one."

Powell had been in explosive form since being beaten by American Tyson Gay in the 100m final at the World Championships in Osaka last month.

He lowered his own world record to 9.74 seconds in Rieti and cruised to victory in the 200m, an event he dislikes, at Shanghai's Golden Grand Prix on Friday.

Powell looked comfortable bursting from the blocks in Yokohama but pulled up suddenly just before the home straight to give American J.J. Johnson a clear path to victory in 20.64.

"It's probably the effect of running the 200 in Shanghai," said Doyle. "Everything had been falling into place since Osaka so it's a difficult way for Asafa to end the season."

Another Jamaican, 400m specialist Shericka Williams, raced into a strong head wind of 3.8m/s to win the women's 200 in 23.32 seconds ahead of the Cayman Islands' Cydonnie Mothersill and Asami Tanno, the Japanese record holder.

Gay splashed home in a modest 10.23 to win the 100m from Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles, atoning for a shock defeat by training partner Wallace Spearmon in Shanghai.

"Asafa's injury wasn't on my mind at all," Gay told Reuters. "But it is hard to get warmed up mentally in your head when it's rainy like this.

"I feel sorry for Asafa. He may have caught a cramp. I don't know exactly but I assume it's not too serious."

Gay, who won the individual sprint double at the World Championships and added a third gold in the 4x100m, said he may now opt not to run in Taegu, South Korea, on October 3.

"I'm not sure," he said, still dripping wet from the rain. "I'm just real tired. It's just the way I'm feeling. I'm going to talk to my agent. He's going to let me know."

RICHARDS VICTORY

American Sanya Richards, who shared the $1 million Golden League jackpot with Russia's pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva earlier this month, easily won the women's 400m in 50.27.

"It was difficult to get motivated in this weather," said Richards. "Before I got in the blocks I thought 'Lord, bring me through injury free'.

"You'd hate to get injured in the last meet (of the season) and then have to rehab. My hamstrings did feel tight today, so I definitely had that in mind too."

Former world 400m hurdles champion Bershawn Jackson made a late surge to win the men's 400m hurdles in 49.80 with Osaka gold medallist Kerron Clement trailing in fifth in 50.74.

Swede Linus Thornblad upset Bahama's world champion Donald Thomas in the men's high jump, clearing 2.21 metres with pouring rain making the run-up treacherous for the athletes.