Asafa Powell has warned 100 metre rivals Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay he plans to 'put on a big show' at Friday's Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels.
Powell goes into his clash with Olympic champion and world record holder Bolt and last year's world champion Gay in the last IAAF Golden League meeting of the season on the back of running a lifetime best 9.72seconds in Lausanne.
And the Jamaican, who came a disappointing fifth at the Olympics, is determined to show he can go just as fast when challenged by his biggest rivals.
Powell, four times a MVD champion, said: 'Brussels is one of my favourite tracks. It is usually one of my first races after a championship each year, so I'm always very excited about coming here."
‘I'm going out there to put on a big show, to run really fast. This is one of my favourite meets and I'm confident I'm going to run fast tomorrow.
‘My tank is full of gas. I don't think I have started using it, so the gauge is still at full. I amaze myself at times, at the end of a season I'm always running fast, breaking records and doing great things, so I can't really explain it.
‘I asked my coach yesterday why I’m running so fast at the end of the season' and he said “there is a lot less pressure now so you can do whatever you want”.’
Powell, who saw Bolt take the world record off him at the end of May with a time of 9.72secs, beat his compatriot in a pre-Olympic race in Stockholm. But Powell was found wanting on the big occasion as Bolt took the Olympic title in Beijing in a new world record of 9.69secs.
The Commonwealth champion has though bounced back and, after storming to victory in 9.87secs in atrocious conditions at Gateshead last Sunday, ran the second fastest 100m in history - equalling Bolt's earlier mark of 9.72secs - in Lausanne two nights later.
Powell, an Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist, admitted a world record assault could rest on the weather, which is predicted to be cold with the possibility of rain, but still feels a good performance is on the cards.
‘I'm very excited about tomorrow,’ Powell said, ‘If I do what I'm really supposed to do, running against guys like this can only make me run faster.’
Although Gay is also in the field, Powell appears to have his sights set firmly on Bolt.
‘If I go out and beat him (Bolt) I will know I'm in good shape,’ he added.
‘Psychologically it will really give me a boost, knowing what I have been through this year, and beating someone who has run 9.69secs. It will really build myself confidence for next year.
‘My coach said something to me, and so tomorrow I'm going out there to put it into play,’ Powell added, without revealing what the tactic was.
‘You're going to just have to watch and see how I run.’
Kenya's 800m runner Pamela Jelimo and high jumper Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will share the IAAF Golden Jackpot of USD 1million if they both claim victories.
