Asafa Powell: biography. Interesting facts about Asafa Powell

All athletes know about Asafa Powell. With his name are associated not only with high-profile sports records, but scandals.

Biography

This famous athlete was born on 23.11.1982 in Spanish Town (Jamaica) in a large family. He had five older brothers. He grew up in a family with very strict rules and principles. His parents - William and Sislin Powell - were the reverend of the local church. They have always been in favor of strict discipline, so they forbade their children to attend entertainment, such as concerts or dances.

Study and Sport

Since his early childhood, Asafa got carried away by sports. He has been actively engaged in athletics since the age of 9 in a small village of Linstead, located in St. Catherine County. In the middle school of Charlmount, the future champion was ahead of almost all of his peers at different sprint distances. Most of all he liked to run at 100, 200 and 400 m. Asafa Powell, whose photo is now known all over the world, was at first engaged in getting a good higher education, rather than a sports career. At the insistence of his parents, he entered the University of Kingston. He stayed in the capital of Jamaica, despite the fact that he was offered a scholarship in several American universities. Student years he spent in the company of parents and brothers.

At this time, he visited the church weekly and behaved like an exemplary son. One of his brothers - Donovan - was a participant in the Olympic Games. Over time, he became the manager of Asafa. The future champion was a member of the athletic club Maximising Velocity and Power, acting at the University of Technology, Kingston. There his coach was Stephen Francis.

Breakthrough in a sports career

In 2004, the young sprinter was the fifth in the finals of the Olympic Games in Athens at a distance of 100 m. After this event, he took first place in the track and field finals held in Monaco, on hundred and two hundred meters. In 2006, the Jamaican won the Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne (Australia) and the athletics finals in Stuttgart. The future Olympic champion became the winner of the IAAF Golden League (the annual track and field athletics series, held from 1998 to 2009) at a distance of 100 m. In the athletics final, held September 22, 2007 in Stuttgart (Germany), Asafa won first place at the The distance of 100 m.

At the World Athletics Championships held in Osaka, Japan in 2007, Powell won a silver medal in the 4 x 100 m relay and bronze at a distance of 100 m. In the fall of 2007, in the IAAF Grand Prix series, held in Italian City of Rieti, a young Yamanian set a new world record in the 100 m race. He overcame this distance in just 9.74 seconds. So gradually Powell became one of the most beloved athletes of the new generation.

Personal bests

As an outstanding sprinter, Asafa Powell started talking when he became Olympic champion in 2008. This significant event for the Jamaican athlete occurred on August 22nd. After just a few weeks, sports commentators around the world again reported Asafa Powell. The record set by him at a distance of 100 m in 2007 was improved by him for 2 seconds. After that, the Jamaican runner achieved several more victories at sprint distances.

Asafa Powell will always be remembered, even if he can no longer show outstanding results in athletics. This is due to the fact that he set an incredible personal record in running at a hundred-meter distance. He crossed 100 m in 9.72 seconds. In the history of the race, this distance was run faster than Powell's only 3 people: Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt, Johan Blake.

Other personal records of the Jamaican athlete include the following results at different distances:

• 50 m - 5.64 s;

• 60 m - 6.50 s;

• 200 m - 19.90 s;

• 400 m - 45.96 s;

• 4 x 100 m - 37.10 s.

Roman Vacations Asafa Powell

Athletes, like movie stars, become the object of close attention of journalists and fans. Many of them perfectly remember the "Roman embarrassment" of Asafa Powell. The Olympic records of many athletes made arrogant and vain. So the Jamaican sprinter, in the opinion of many representatives of the press, picked up the "star fever". So, at the Roman Olympic stadium, the athlete, who has a fine figure, defiantly posed during warm-up in the warm-up field. This he did, waiting for the start of the race in the new phase of the Golden League. At the same time around him were placed stone sculptures of the ancient Roman gladiators, to whom he made a worthy competition. On the eve of this semi-final race Powell was set up militantly, letting everyone know that he does not lose the desire to regain the title of the best sprinter of the world.

Asaf started slowly, but already in the middle of the race he was perfectly dispersed, and 30 meters before the finish he was ahead of all runners on the whole body. Viewers and commentators at this point were confident in Powell's victory in this race, but about 15 meters before the finish he suddenly stopped and gave himself 4 athletes. Representatives of the press made every effort to learn at least some information about the causes of the incident, but they could not communicate with the sprinter. From the vague explanations of his manager, correspondents concluded that Asafa was injured and stopped fighting for a place in the final, having arranged for himself an unplanned "Roman vacation". In fact, the true reasons for what happened were not announced by the athlete or his representatives, which gave rise to many different rumors about the causes of this embarrassment.

Highest achievements

In addition to winning the Summer Olympics in Beijing (2008), Asafa Powell also has other outstanding achievements. So, he is the world champion in the relay 4 x 100 m. Jamaica team has set a new world and Olympic records, having overcome all the stages of the relay for 37.1 s. In this way she owes much to the excellent result of Asafa Powell.

The 2009 championship, held in Berlin (Germany), brought him personally not only a gold medal, but also worldwide fame. On it, he became a bronze medalist at a distance of 100 m and won gold in the relay 4 x 100 m in the team of Jamaica. In 2011, the sprinter was the winner of the IAAF Diamond League on the hundred-meter mark.

Disqualification

In April 2014, all sports media again started talking about Asafa Powell. Disqualification is a serious punishment for an athlete, who can permanently destroy his image. It was this trouble that overcame Powell. The Disciplinary Commission of the Anti-Doping Committee of Jamaica punished the celebrated sprinter for using dope. He was banned drug "Methylsineprin" (oxylofrin), which refers to stimulants amphetamine group. He was included in the authorized food supplement Ephiphany D1, which was accepted by the athlete. Powell was suspended from the competition for 1.5 years. The period of his disqualification was counted from June 21, 2013.

Physical data

In sports circles, everyone knows about Asafa Powell as a person with excellent physical data. So, with an increase of 190 cm, it weighs 88 kg. Asafa has an ideal body with a well-developed musculature. It is a tidbit for advertisers promoting sportswear and men's underwear.

Interesting Facts

Asafa Powell loves cars. He often says that if it were not for a sports career, he would work as a car mechanic. At leisure, a sprinter is fond of racing and even engaged in assembling a high-speed car.

Another interesting feature of Asafa is his ability to calmly accept defeat. He almost does not get angry, and the family and fans motivate him to achieve records and medals.

To maintain his ideal figure in the proper form, Powell adheres to a kind of "chicken diet". In his daily diet there must be chicken meat.