Powell left out of Jamaica's Gold Coast team because of injury - JAAA

KINGSTON (Reuters) - Former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell was left out of the Jamaica team for next month's Commonwealth Games because he was injured, the head of the country's athletics association said on Friday.

Powell left out of Jamaica's Gold Coast team because of injury - JAAA

(Reuters)





Powell, who won 100m gold at the last Commonwealth Games to be held in Australia in 2006, had expressed a desire to race on the Gold Coast despite heading towards retirement at the age of 35.

The Olympic sprint relay champion was not among the 30 men named earlier this month to take part in the track and field at the April 4-15 Games, however, and the island nation's top athletics official said the reason was straightforward.

"We had a credible report that Powell had sustained an injury and therefore could not be selected," Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association President Dr. Warren Blake told Reuters.

Jamaicans have won the men's 100m at the last four Commonwealth Games as the nation enjoyed a golden age in men's sprinting spearheaded by the now retired Usain Bolt.

With 2014 Glasgow champion Kemar Bailey-Cole also failing to make the team for the Gold Coast, 2011 world champion Yohan Blake will be a strong favourite to continue that run.

Blake, Bolt's former training partner and the third fastest sprinter of all time, is already in Australia with team mate Julian Forte, who ran the third fastest 100m in the world last year behind American Christian Coleman and Blake.





(Reporting by Kayon Raynor, writing by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world