Asafa Powell

Former world record holder at 100m who ran sub-9.90 seconds more times than any other athlete in history.

Asafa Powell was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1982, one of six brothers five of whom played professional sport. He developed at the University of Technology Jamaica. He broke the 100m world record in June 2005 running 9.77 seconds at the Athens Golden Gala and lowered it to 9.74 seconds in Rieti in September 2007. He held the world record for two separate periods before Usain Bolt's emergence. He has run sub-9.90 seconds more times than any other athlete in history — 97 legal sub-10-second runs across a career spanning over 15 years. He won Olympic gold in the 4×100m relay at Beijing 2008 as part of Jamaica's historic team that set a world record of 37.10 seconds. He twice won the Commonwealth Games 100m (2006, 2010). A positive test for the stimulant oxilofrine at the 2012 London Olympics led to an 18-month ban subsequently reduced. His consistency at the sub-10 level over more than a decade — producing more sub-10-second performances than any athlete in history — represents a remarkable sustained achievement at the highest level of the sport.

Explosive starter with exceptional speed endurance

Most consistent sub-10 second sprinter in history

• Olympic Gold 4x100m relay 2008 (Jamaica, team)
• World Champion 100m 2011
• IAAF Athlete of Year 2006
• 98 sub-10 second performances (world record)
• Former 100m world record holder 9.77s (2005–2008)