Powell confident he can challenge compatriot Bolt
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Jamaican sprint star Asafa Powell remains confident he is no less talented and competitive than his world-beating compatriot Usain Bolt, despite a season prematurely ended by injuries.
"I am not very far from him (Bolt), I'm just not healthy," the 27-year-old said. "He is very fast, but he's not a super man. He's a normal person."
Powell finished second to the 100m and 200m world record holder at a meeting in July in Paris, after which he had to end his season early due to hamstring and back problems.
Born on the Caribbean island known as the "sprint factory" for its long list of track stars, Powell said he wasn't a very dedicated athlete in the first few years of his career, but the emergence of "Lightning Bolt" made him knuckle down and focus on his sport.
"I am naturally talented, so I was very lazy and didn't train a lot," said Powell, who broke the world record for the first time in the 100m by clocking 9.77 seconds in 2005 and reduced that to 9.74 in 2007. "But it didn't take long (for me to break the record), I'm grateful for that.
"After (Bolt's emergence) I really focused on the sport more," said the Olympic gold medalist, who took the baton from Bolt and anchored the Jamaican 4100m relay team to victory at the 2008 Beijing Games. "Definitely, Bolt is a challenge for me. He really pushes me to work a lot harder."
Battling a shoulder injury, Powell missed the DN Galan in Stockholm, Sweden, this August, where American sprinter Tyson Gay soundly defeated Bolt with a run of 9.84 to the Jamaican's 9.97.
Powell said he was frustrated by his string of injuries and hoped to be back in peak physical form by December.
The former world record holder has already set his sights on the 2011 World Championships in South Korea and the London Olympics the following year.
"The 2011 World Championships is my main focus," Powell said at a signing ceremony with Chinese leading sports brand Li-Ning on Tuesday. "However, the 2012 Olympics is the big one ... and I can't wait. It's very exciting."
