World 100m record holder Asafa Powell has lost his race against time to be fit for next month's 100m at the world athletics championships in Helsinki, his agent has confirmed.
The 22-year-old Jamaican, who set a new mark of 9.77sec in Athens last month, is recovering from a torn groin muscle which he suffered when competing in the 100m at Crystal Palace last week.
His agent Paul Doyle said: "He won't be running in the 100m. There's still a chance that he could compete in the 4x100m relay, but it's very unlikely."
He added that the injury was very close to a tendon, which means it will take longer to heal, and Powell hopes to be back for the Golden League meeting in Zurich on August 19.
