Powell aims for Greene's record at DN Galan meet
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Asafa Powell already shares the 100-meter world record. He'll be satisfied with a stadium record Tuesday at the DN Galan meet.
The Jamaican sprinter, who shares the world mark of 9.77 seconds with Justin Gatlin, goes after Maurice Greene's Olympic stadium record of 9.87 -- and the 1-carat diamond that goes with it.
"It can be beaten -- it's a matter of confidence and motivation," Powell said.
Greene set the stadium record in 1999.
Powell will face a strong field that includes young Americans Tyson Gay and Xavier "X-Man" Carter.
Gay ran 9.88 Friday in Athens, going under 10 seconds for the first time. Carter's personal best is 10.09, also set this season.
Also entered are Shawn Crawford, who won the 200 and finished third in the 100 at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and fellow Americans Bernard Williams and Marcus Brunson.
Gay and Carter are better known for their times in the 200. Gay clocked a personal best of 19.70 in Lausanne two weeks ago, the fourth-fastest time at that distance. And Carter won the 200 at the same meet in 19.63 -- second only to Michael Johnson's world record of 19.32 set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
"It was my first 200 since April, but I knew I could run fast," Carter said.
Earlier this year, Carter became the first athlete since Jesse Owens in 1936 to win four titles at an NCAA meet. He won titles in the 100, 400 and two relays.
Tuesday's meet has attracted 19 athletes who top the seasonal bests in their events. Together they have won 119 Olympic and world championship medals.
Among those are Jeremy Wariner, whose personal best of 43.62 in the 400 shows that he is the closest to threatening Johnson's world record of 43.18. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, the 5,000 and 10,000 world record holder, will run in the 1,500.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
