By Simon Evans
KINGSTON (Reuters) - Olympic 100 meters champion Usain Bolt won the Jamaican title over rival Asafa Powell on Saturday and then declared that American world champion Tyson Gay had little chance of breaking his world record.
Bolt, who holds the record with 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Games last year, ran home in 9.86 against a negative wind at the National Stadium to post the year`s fastest non-assisted time.
Powell, who was quicker out of the blocks, was second in 9.97 ahead of Michael Frater (10.02).
Gay ran a speedy, albeit wind-assisted 9.75 seconds in his first 100 meters of the season at the U.S. world championship trials in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday, and said after the race that he felt he could break Bolt`s record if he could improve his start.
"Personally, no disrespect to Tyson but that is going to be a hard for task for him," Bolt told reporters.
"Tyson is more of a 200 runner than a 100 runner so it is going to be very hard. He had a lot of (wind) assistance for that time. It is going to be very hard for him."
Gay failed to qualify for the finals at Beijing after injury hampered his preparations but he is set for a showdown with Bolt in the world championships in Berlin in August.
FINISH WITH EASE
Bolt overtook Powell midway through the race and had enough of a lead to finish with some ease in front of a cheering crowd.
"It was good. I am just happy that I finished injury-free and I am feeling good," he said.
Bolt said that Powell, who has struggled with a left ankle injury since April, looked to be on his way back.
"I would say Asafa is coming into shape and that is a good thing, his ankle is getting better. It is going to be a good season, as soon as he gets into shape its going to be very interesting," said Bolt.
Powell was pleased with his result, set against a 0.2 negative wind, given his ankle was still troubling him.
"It was a fairly good race because I am basically running on one leg, so I`m fairly happy. The aim was just to finish in the top two," he told reporters.
"The ankle has really surprised me -- I thought it would be gone by now but still there," he said, adding that he was in some discomfort after three rounds of racing. Continued...
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