Read 'em and Weep!
Sunday 8 May, 2005
I wanted to go to the Jamaica Grand Prix meet this year, but being in Atlanta for mother's day took precedence. Last night, Asafa Powell, as I predicted less than a month ago he would, became the fastest Caribbean male ever and returned the Central American and Caribbean record to Jamaica. It had been mine for 9 years at 9.86, and I had supplanted Jamaican Raymond Stewart, the first Caribbean man under 10 (9.96) in 1996, with my 9.93 at the Mt Sac Relays.
Anyone who tells you it doesn't hurt to lose a record is lying. It doesnt hurt like "crash your Porsche" hurt or "lose a pet" hurt, but it does. I went to bed last night like damn, damn, damn - even though I didn't even expect the record to last through last year, yet alone this one. In my case, though, I am fortunate. Asafa is a good guy within a great program who understands the drive phase and has paid his dues. Many forget that he, too, was thrown out of the Paris 100m with Drummond in the "I did not move" debacle in 2003. He likely would have won that championship. If Asafa had won the Olympic 100m title as he was expected to, and run 9.87 to do so, my record might have stood a chance. NOT winning and hearing the "he choked" and "he can't win the big one" whispers has probably put a chip on his shoulder the size of Kingston. I knew he would be the fastest man on earth this year, simply because he lost one race last year - the Olympic final, which means, like Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic from 2001-2004, he will dominate the next four years, simply because nothing else can make up for losing that race, so you are forced to spend the next 4 years proving that it was a fluke loss...by winning everything else in sight.
I would only hope for Asafa and his camp that his record and his efforts and dues would be respected...9.84 as an opener is only deemed "impossible" unless you consider that for 3 straight years, I opened my 100m season with sub 9.90 second times (97-99) - and THAT was considered impossible before it was done, too. Alas, this morning, I woke up and saw already that the haters are out in full force. "He must be on something!" (Yeah - he is on the track training while you all are busy hating and figuring) It is sad to see the jealousy that goes along with every single good performance in this sport. I am going to say right now that I know 9.84 can be done cleanly because 9.86 was done cleanly on 4 different occasions by the only person I can say 100% never took anything remotely illegal to run faster - and I can therefore wish Asafa the best.
Shame on all of you who claim to love this sport, and yet anytime a man's gifts blossom in the form of fast times, you cast aspersions on its validity. This sport can never have credibility if even the people within it are always suspicious. Listening to egomaniacs like Charlie Francis and Victor Conte who are self-proclaimed experts about the ability of black athletes because they doped a few of them up or have some degree in biomechanics is lunacy. To hear those two tell it, no-one who ever ran fast ever did it without drugs. I will spend my last dollar, my last breath and last iota of strength ensuring that the voice of those who believe in the performances and the abilities, despite those who have been found out to have made poor decisions, is in the majority - and not the minority.
All you tough, macho, men out there in trackland - be man enough to give a brother his props when they are due, and check your insecurity at the door. Maybe you weren't born with the ability to ever run that fast...that doesn't mean he wasn't. TRACK AND FIELD is the only sport where if someone can't run as fast as someone else, then the difference is only explained by drugs. Funny how you can't jump as high as Vince Carter, either, but THAT's not because of drugs, that's just good old genetics. Think about that for a minute.
If you are hating on Asafa Powell of Jamaica, it's going to be a tough next-ten-years-or-so for you, trust me.
Asafa, brother, 9.84 at 22....what can I say. Go do it BIG, and submit to every test - blood, urine or anything in between, because at some point, someone is going to have to admit that performance does not come from a syringe. I see no reason why you can't be the one to show them. Lord knows I tried.
