Asafa Powell pulls out of London Grand Prix

Former 100m world record holder, Asafa Powell (pictured), will not run in today’s London AVIVA Grand Prix Diamond League meet as a precautionary measure, following complaints about a tightness in his groin.

“I have had some tightness in my groin since the race in Budapest. I had hoped that it would have cleared by now but it is still there,” Powell was quoted.

Powell looked comfortable en route to victory in Budapest, shutting down pretty early as he clocked 9.86 seconds.

The MVP Track Club star has been one of the most impressive athletes on the circuit this season, and underlines that with the IAAF World Championships in Athletics just a few days away, he hopes to prevent an injury going into the big meet.

Powell is currently the fastest 100m athlete going into the IAAF World Championships, scheduled for Daegu, South Korea with a mark of 9.78 seconds – posted over a month ago in Lausanne.

“I am only focusing on Daegu, as much as I would love to run tonight I just can’t risk anything with Daegu three weeks away,” Powell added.

The athlete’s agent, Paul Doyle confirmed the withdrawal and explained that its merely a precautionary measure.

Source: Agencies

“We’re making this decision to not race tonight as a precaution. Asafa has a tightness in his groin that has been getting better every day, but to run tonight would put him at risk for injury.

“If we had two or three more days I think he would be fine and able to race, but unfortunately that is not the case,” Doyle said.