The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: Jamaican sprinters check into Olympic village

Jamaican Olympians Veronica Cambell-Brown (right) and Shevon Stoddart push their trollies as they arrive at the athletes' village in Beijing. - Charles Pitt

BEIJING (AP)

The world's two fastest men, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, checked into the Olympic athletes' village Monday after a three-hour bus ride from the Jamaican training camp, arriving four days ahead of the first heats of the 100 meters.

Bolt, the 21-year-old phenom who took .02 of a second off Powell's mark to set the world record at 9.72 seconds in May, is aiming for a 100-200 double in Beijing.

Powell, who held the world record for almost three years, is targeting his first gold medal at an Olympic or World Championship meet.

Head-to-head

While Bolt and Powell are expected to go head-to-head in the highly anticipated 100 - a final also likely to feature world champion Tyson Gay of the United States - Jamaican officials anticipate the pair will join forces to help the Caribbean country win gold in the 4x100-metre relay.

Senior team management downplayed reports of a rift in the team last week, when Powell and his MVP club mates challenged team officials about participating in relay practice during the camp at Tianjin.

"All is well in the camp, nothing to worry about," Jamaica athletics team manager Ludlow Watts said in a telephone interview yesterday. "We travelled here together as a team. The only thing on their minds is medals."

Low profile

Watts said the sprinters planned to keep a low profile this week.

"They're trying to avoid interviews or anything that will take their focus off winning medals," Watts said.

The Jamaican media reported that it took an emergency meeting to resolve a difference of opinion over training schedules between athletes coached by Stephen Francis, including Powell and former world championship silver medalist Michael Frater, and the Jamaican track and field association officials - who appointed Bolt's coach Glen Mills to oversee preparations for the national team.

In the end, relay practice went ahead and Jamaica shapes up as a gold-medal prospect in both the men's and women's 4x100-metre relays.

Powell confident

Powell, whose early season was marred by a chest muscle injury, is concentrating on his main challenge first, telling The STAR that he is confident he'll have a gold medal around his neck after Saturday's 100-mete final and wants to make up for flops at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2007 World Championships.

"This time, I am going do it," he told the newspaper. "My training is going very well, and I have only one aim in mind. While I am not focusing on what happened in the past, I can't erase it. It's part of my history, but now I have a chance to write a new history. I am going out there to win the race."

Bolt only emerged on the 100 scene in May when he decided to run a race to improve his speed for his preferred 200. Now he's run the best times this year in both races.

A spokesman for Bolt said the sprinter had reserved the days before the track competition starts purely for training and getting ready for his events.

"Hopefully the next media he will do is after winning the 100 metres," Ricky Simms said.

Jamaica's Usain Bolt (left) and Asafa Powell arrive at the athletes' village in Beijing yesterday. - Charles Pitt photos