At the IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels, Belgium, last Friday (25), Jamaican Asafa Powell surpassed USA’s Maurice Greene’s total of 9 wind legal sub-10 second clockings for 100m, which since 1999 has been the best ever single season of that stature by a 100m sprinter.

Powell, deceived by a fast starter slept in the blocks at the Van Damme Memorial meeting, perhaps playing one of the greatest ever games of catch-up in sprinting history, still managed to win the race and duck under 10 seconds. It was the Commonwealth Games champion’s tenth sub-10 of the year, and with it the World record holder for the distance had surpassed the feat of former World and Olympic champion Maurice Greene.

But there is still a long way to go for Powell if he is to come close to matching let alone beating the 52 total of sub-10s which Greene raced in his entire career. The Jamaican’s standing is presently 23, but he is keen to add to that total in the next few days. After running at a meeting in Poland on Wednesday night (30 Aug), the 23-year-old will set his sights on Sunday’s (3 Sep) DKB-ISTAF Berlin, which concludes the six meeting series of the IAAF Golden League 2006.

Men’s 100m - Sub-10 second stats, Powell versus Greene

Greene in 1999: 9 legal + 2 windy

9.91w 2.4 1r3 ModR Modesto CA 8 May

9.84w 3.5 1 Pre Eugene OR 30 May

9.79 WR 0.1 1r3 Tsiklitiria Athína 16 Jun

9.93 0.4 2r1 Athletissima Lausanne 2 Jul

9.85 0.8 1 GGala Roma 7 Jul

9.87 0.6 1 DNG Stockholm 30 Jul

9.97 -0.6 1rA GP London 7 Aug

9.99 -0.7 1 WK Zürich 11 Aug

9.91 -0.2 1q5 WC Sevilla 21 Aug

9.96 -0.7 1s1 WC Sevilla 22 Aug

9.80 0.2 1 WC Sevilla 22 Aug

Powell in 2006: 10 legal + 1 windy

9.95 -0.6 1r1 Kingston 6 May

9.93w 2.5 1r2 Pre Eugene OR 28 May

9.96 1.6 1h1 Bislett Oslo 2 Jun

9.98 -0.9 1 Bislett Oslo 2 Jun

9.77 WR 1.5 1 Norwich Union Gateshead 11 Jun

9.85 0.1 1rA Gaz Saint-Denis 8 Jul

9.85 0.5 1r2 GGala Roma 14 Jul

9.86 0.2 1r3 DNG Stockholm 25 Jul

9.91 -0.6 1 Norw Union London 28 Jul

9.77 WR 1.0 1r2 WK Zürich 18 Aug

9.99 0.3 1 VD Bruxelles 25 Aug

Greene’s career: total of 52 legal + 12 windy = 64

9.78 3.7 1 US Open Stanford CA 31 May 2004

9.79 2.9 1 Pre Eugene OR 31 May 1998

9.79 0.1 1r3 Tsiklitiria Athína 16 Jun 1999

9.80 0.2 1 WC Sevilla 22 Aug 1999

9.82 -0.2 1 WC Edmonton 5 Aug 2001

9.84 3.3 1h2 NC New Orleans LA 19 Jun 1998

9.84 3.5 1 Pre Eugene OR 30 May 1999

9.85 0.8 1 GGala Roma 7 Jul 1999

9.86 0.2 1 WC Athína 3 Aug 1997

9.86 -0.2 1rA ISTAF Berlin 1 Sep 2000

9.86 4.6 1 Home Depot Carson CA 22 May 2004

9.87 0.6 1 DNG Stockholm 30 Jul 1999

9.87 -0.3 1 OG Sydney 23 Sep 2000

9.87 0.6 3 OG Athína 22 Aug 2004

9.88 5.3 1r2 TexasR Austin TX 8 Apr 1995

9.88 2.1 1 VD Bruxelles 25 Aug 2000

9.88 2.4 1 NC Stanford CA 22 Jun 2002

9.89 0.9 1r1 GGala Roma 12 Jul 2002

9.90 0.2 1 NC Indianapolis IN 13 Jun 1997

9.90 1.0 1rA Athl Lausanne 2 Jul 1997

9.90 1.3 2q1 WC Athína 2 Aug 1997

9.90 0.5 1s2 WC Athína 3 Aug 1997

9.90 0.3 1rA DNG Stockholm 5 Aug 1998

9.90 0.3 1h4 NC Eugene OR 21 Jun 2001

9.90 1.1 1r1 Athletissima Lausanne 4 Jul 2001

9.91 2.4 1r3 ModR Modesto CA 8 May 1999

9.91 -0.2 1q5 WC Sevilla 21 Aug 1999

9.91 - 0.4 1 GP Osaka 13 May 2000

9.91 -0.3 1 Tsiklitiria Athína 11 Jun 2001

9.91 0.0 1 OT Sacramento CA 11 Jul 2004

9.92 0.2 2 VD Bruxelles 22 Aug 1997

9.92 -0.3 1rA Athl Lausanne 25 Aug 1998

9.92 3.7 2 Pre Eugene OR 27 May 2001

9.93 0.4 2r1 Athletissima Lausanne 2 Jul 1999

9.93 0.3 1h4 NC Sacramento CA 14 Jul 2000

9.93 1.8 2 Pre Eugene OR 19 Jun 2004

9.93 -0.2 1q5 OG Athína 21 Aug 2004

9.94 -0.3 1 VD Bruxelles 28 Aug 1998

9.94 0.1 1rA ISTAF Berlin 1 Sep 1998

9.94 -1.0 1 WK Zürich 11 Aug 2000

9.94 1.4 1 Home Depot Carson CA 1 Jun 2003

9.94 -0.5 2rA WK Zürich 6 Aug 2004

9.96 1.5 1h1 NC Indianapolis IN 12 Jun 1997

9.96 0.6 1s1 NC New Orleans LA 19 Jun 1998

9.96 0.2 2 Bislett Oslo 9 Jul 1998

9.96 -1.0 1 GWG Uniondale NY 21 Jul 1998

9.96 -0.7 1s1 WC Sevilla 22 Aug 1999

9.96 -0.1 1 GP Osaka 12 May 2001

9.96 -0.4 1 Gaz Saint-Denis 6 Jul 2001

9.97 -0.6 1rA GP London 7 Aug 1999

9.97 0.7 1r1 GGala Roma 30 Jun 2000

9.97 -0.2 1r2 Tsiklitiria Athína 10 Jun 2002

9.97 0.1 1 Herc Monaco 19 Jul 2002

9.97 -0.3 2 Norw Union London 30 Jul 2004

9.97 0.2 3s2 OG Athína 22 Aug 2004

9.98 -0.8 1r2 Norw Union London 22 Jul 2001

9.98 -0.2 1h2 Norw Union London 30 Jul 2004

9.99 2.4 3r4 MSR Walnut CA 20 Apr 1997

9.99 -0.7 2rA WK Zürich 13 Aug 1997

9.99 -0.5 1rA Nike Sydney 28 Feb 1998

9.99 -0.7 1 WK Zürich 11 Aug 1999

9.99 0.7 1s2 NC Stanford CA 21 Jun 2002

9.99 0.4 1 Gaz Saint-Denis 5 Jul 2002

9.88 w 1q2 WC Edmonton 4 Aug 2001

Powell’s career: 23 legal + 2 windy = 25

9.77 1.6 1 Tsiklitiria Athína 14 Jun 2005

9.77 1.5 1 Norwich Union Gateshead 11 Jun 2006

9.77 1.0 1r2 WK Zürich 18 Aug 2006

9.84 1.8 1 Kingston 7 May 2005

9.84 3.4 2 Pre Eugene OR 4 Jun 2005

9.85 0.6 1r2 GSpike Ostrava 9 Jun 2005

9.85 0.1 1rA Gaz Saint-Denis 8 Jul 2006

9.85 0.5 1r2 GGala Roma 14 Jul 2006

9.86 0.2 1r3 DNG Stockholm 25 Jul 2006

9.87 0.2 1 VD Bruxelles 3 Sep 2004

9.91 -0.1 1 NC Kingston 26 Jun 2004

9.91 -0.3 1 Norw Union London 30 Jul 2004

9.91 -0.6 1 Norw Union London 28 Jul 2006

9.93 -0.5 1rA WK Zürich 6 Aug 2004

9.93 2.5 1r2 Pre Eugene OR 28 May 2006

9.94 0.6 5 OG Athína 22 Aug 2004

9.95 0.2 1s2 OG Athína 22 Aug 2004

9.95 -0.6 1r1 Kingston 6 May 2006

9.96 1.6 1h1 Bislett Oslo 2 Jun 2006

9.98 -1.6 1 WAF Monaco 18 Sep 2004

9.98 1.9 1h2 Tsiklitiria Athína 14 Jun 2005

9.98 -0.9 1 Bislett Oslo 2 Jun 2006

9.99 1.8 1 Spanish Town 12 Jun 2004

9.99 -0.2 2q5 OG Athína 21 Aug 2004

9.99 0.3 1 VD Bruxelles 25 Aug 2006

With special thanks to Mirko Jalava for the above lists