On the Scene in Daegu -- Powell Pulls Out of 100 Meters

(ATR) Jamaica touts itself as "The Fastest Country in the World" thanks to Usain Bolt and five of his fellow Beijing gold medalists.

The six Olympic champions appeared Thursday at an elaborate press conference in Daegu hosted by Puma.

Yet the confusion caused by the absence of another gold medalist, Asafa Powell, stole the show.

"Who Faster?" may be the Puma catchphrase for Bolt, but it's more like "Who Running?" as one of his teammates let slip that Powell was out of the 100 meters at the world championships beginning Saturday.

Many of the 300 journalists who trekked to the Daeduk Cultural Hall in the hills on the outskirts of Daegu were surprised to hear Michael Frater say, "I didn't come here expecting to run the 100 meters, but unfortunately Asafa couldn't make it."

When pressed about whether that meant he, Nesta Carter and Yohan Blake would be the other Jamaican entrants in the 100m besides Bolt, Frater did some backpedalling.

"That's up to the management staff," he said. "I don't think anything has been decided yet. We have to wait and see what occurs over the next few days."

A question about Powell's fitness brought stony silence from the three Jamaicans, who sat side-by-side and stared at the floor. The press conference hostess from Korea ventured, "I am not able to answer that question. They are not able to answer that question as well, I believe. Do you have another question?"

Bolt on the Spot

When Bolt finally took the stage of the Dream Hall auditorium for his Q&A session, he also was asked about Powell withdrawing from the meet. Their duel was expected to be one of the key showdowns with Bolt the "World's Fastest Man" and Powell the world's fastest man this year with a time of 9.78 seconds to Bolt's 9.88.

"Asafa is out?" Bolt said, nervously looking offstage. "This is the first I'm hearing about that, so I can't really answer that question. I saw Asafa yesterday, so I don't know."

Jamaica's team leader, Grace Jackson, who had earlier charmed the crowd in her own Q&A, also clammed up.

"The technical meeting is going on," she said. "We do not have any information on that. We're not able to answer that definitively."

Asked if Powell was hurt, Jackson said, "I cannot comment. I'm not aware of that."

However, Powell's injury, a groin strain, is common knowledge. He pulled out of the Diamond League meet in London on Aug. 6 citing the strain.

In announcing Powell's withdrawal Thursday from the 100m, agent Paul Doyle said in a statement that Powell suffered the injury in Budapest on July 30 and has had recurring tightness and pain ever since.

Doyle saidPowell "received all sorts of treatments over the past two weeks in the hope of being prepared to run...He feels he would not be at 100 percent and may have trouble coming back after each round.

"Asafa is very disappointed to say the least. He was really hoping to run in what was going to be one of the most anticipated races of the championships. He is still optimistic to be able to run the relay."

Powell anchored the 4x100-meter relay in Beijing, with Bolt running the third leg. The 4x100m final is Sept. 4. Frater and Carter were the other two members of the team in Beijing.

Personal Life Off-Limits

Bolt was asked questions ranging from his training to his longstanding mission of becoming a legend to his girlfriend of six years. He squirmed for several long moments after a journalist asked him when he would get married.

"I don't want to talk about my personal life," Bolt said, finally. "Let's keep it business-wise."

The hostess then chided the journalists: "We're trying to keep this about performance, not personal life."

As for the former, Bolt said that since he sustained a back injury last year, this is his comeback season. He said he is "working really hard to get back in tiptop shape. I don't think I'm in 9.5 shape, but I definitely think I will be able to run fast."

Bolt set the world record of 9.58 seconds in Berlin two years ago at last world championships.

Asked how important title defenses in the 100m, 200m and relay are to becoming a legend, Bolt replied, "It's very important. I've said throughout the season that the world championships is pretty much going to be the first step in the door to becoming a legend. It's very important; you have to take the first step before you can take the second, which is the Olympics."

Women Just As Fast

Jamaica's other three reigning Olympic champions who appeared at the press conference were Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100 meters), Veronica Campbell-Brown (200 meters) and Melaine Walker (400-meter hurdles), who was joined in her session by up-and-comer Kaliese Spencer.

Walker and Fraser-Pryce are also defending world champions, while Campbell-Brown has been thwarted at the worlds by Allyson Felix of the U.S.

Sport Needs More Heroes

Gianni Merlo, the Italian journalist who heads the IAAF press commission, said athletics needs more heroes besides Bolt.

But new stars are not easy to publicize, he conceded.

"Now it's very difficult to have the possibility to speak with the top athletes of this sport," Merlo told Around the Rings.

"Even the manager has to understand it is vital for their sport. The athletes have to understand that they also have to promote themselves better. They can't complain that Bolt is too big. The problem is that they are too small because they don't try to be as Bolt."

Written and reported in Daegu by Karen Rosen