Jamaica celebrates sprint double in New York

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Asafa Powell and Veronica
Campbell-Brown completed a Jamaican sprint double at the U.S.
Open indoor meet at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
There were no Olympic gold medals on offer but it was an
ominous reminder ahead of this year’s London Games of the
unrivalled strength of Jamaica’s crack sprinters.
Powell, almost the forgotten man of Jamaican sprinting
because of the achievements of Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake,
lunged at the line to win the 50 metre dash in 5.67 seconds, the
fastest time in a decade for the rarely-run event.
“It was weird but it was a pretty good time for my first
race of the season,” said Powell. “There’s bigger races ahead
but that’s a good way to begin.”
Powell’s training partner Nesta Carter was second in 5.67.
Like Powell, he has his sights set on London, if not in the
individual events then the Jamaican relay.
“Just making the Jamaican team is going to be hard enough,”
Powell said.
Campbell-Brown, who won the 200m gold medal at each of the
last two Olympics and was part of the Jamaican relay that won in
Beijing four years ago, burst out of the blocks and held on to
win the women’s 50m dash in 6.08.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” she said. “Each race
is just a preparation for what’s to come this season.”