Powell: I will smash my own world record

SPRINTER Asafa Powell has confidently predicted he will beat his 100 metres world record and become the first person to clock under 9.70 seconds.

The 24-year-old Jamaican ran a blistering time of 9.74secs at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti on Sunday, beating by 0.03secs the previous record he shared with American Justin Gatlin.

“I love this track, it’s very fast and bouncy,” said Powell after his phenomenal performance in his heat and an equally-impressive winning time of 9.78secs in the final.