Jamaica’s Asafa Powell set a new men’s 100m record

On Tuesday June 14th 2004, 22-year-old Jamaican, Asafa Powell set a new men’s 100m record of 9.77 seconds at the Athens Olympic Stadium. He bettered American Tim Montgomery’s previous mark of 9.78 by 100th of a second, which Montgomery set at the Paris Grand Prix in September 2002. Having the world record will be solace for Powell, who had gone to the Athens Olympics as favorite only to trail home fifth behind winner Justin Gatlin. He has been at the top of the 2005 world rankings in the 100m and will now go into the history books.