By Simone Proietti, TrackAlerts.com Writer
RIETI, Italy – Two arrows light up the blue home stretch of the Italian track in Rieti: Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin confirmed their good shape in this part of the season, obtaining two great performances on 100 metres only 48 hours after their race in Zurich.
The Jamaican sprinter, arrived in Rieti tired and without his baggage lost in the air travel, has proved that Rieti is a perfect place for him to run fast. In the story of the event, he ran five times under 10 seconds, set in 2007 the then world record with 9.74secs.
Asafa Powell on his return to Italy clocked sub-10
On Sunday, Powell returned to the Italian meeting to clock an impressive 9.90 (the 84th performance under 10.00) to win the first race.
In the second race, the reaction of the 2014 world leader, the American Justin Gatlin, was immediate, with an astonishing 9.83, ahead of Jamaican Nesta Carter, runner-up with 10.07.
From the little contingent of Caribbean athletes in Rieti, a double Jamaican win came from women: Carrie Russell set her seasonal best with 11.10 over 100 metres, while a solid Stephenie Ann McPherson, this year Commonwealth Games champion, ran 50.38 in 400 meters, after the 50.12 achieved in Brussels two days ago.
The second place in 400 meters was always signed in Jamaica, thanks to Christine Day with 51.08.
