Powell approaching Olympics like his last

Asafa Powell, a world-class sprinter who has achieved a lot but has failed to deliver so much more on the world and Olympic stage, has vowed to approach this summer's London Games like his last.

A gold medal showing in the British capital would be a fine accolade for the 29-year-old Jamaican, a former world record-holder whose career has been overshadowed by countryman Usain Bolt, with yet another Jamaican, Yohan Blake, rising to prominence last year and gaining the No 1 world ranking over 100m.

"It's not my last shot (at Olympic gold), but I'll be approaching it as if it's my last," said Powell, a sculpted 1.90m (6ft 3in) figure of a man who has a personal best of 9.72sec set in Lausanne in 2008, the fourth fastest time in the history of the event.

"I'll be going all out. But I'm only 29, so I have a few more years in me." An Olympic gold medal winner as part of Jamaica's 4x100m relay team in Beijing in 2008, Powell also won relay gold in the 2009 Berlin worlds and silver in 2007.

For a sprinter who held the 100m world record between June 2005 and May 2008, with times of 9.77 and 9.74sec respectively and who has consistently broken the 10-second barrier in competition (around 74 times), Powell's individual medal haul of two world bronzes could be described as disappointing.

Powell raced the 100m at the 2004 Athens Olympics and in Beijing but finished fifth on both occasions, after failing to overcome pre-race nerves and fully convert his obvious on-track abilities into podium showings.

He was quick to play down any run-off against American 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin at Friday's Diamond League opener at Qatar Sports Club. AFP