Jamaican sprint legend has explained why he thinks Asafa Powell might have struggled to show up in his best from during major championships.
, a two-time world champion, is one of the most consistent 100m runners but he always struggled to display great performances in global championships especially after his life-threatening injury in 2005.
That year, had broken the 100m world record in 9.77 seconds before he went down with a groin injury at the Norwich Union Super Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, London. He was flown to Germany for specialised treatment with Dr. Müller-Wohlfhart.
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After thorough inspection, it was confirmed that the former Olympic champion had a 2.5cm tear in his adductor longus muscle in the region of the Bone-Tendon Junction, which was slow to heal and would take him out of the game for long.
However, the , a three-time Olympic medallist, argued that was not patient to let himself heal first before going back to the track. He alleged that Powell was highly motivated by money and could not give himself enough time to recover.
“The issue that affected Powell’s performance is not solely mental, in fact, it is more physical than even mental. Now, when I went through the information on Asafa Powell, it was very clear that Asafa had a physical limitation after he received the injury in 2005. This problem did not require a quick fix,” Gregory Haughton said in a video shared on his You Tube Channel.
Haughton says most and European runners would rather lose a whole season treating an injury and make sure they are back with a bang instead of risking their careers with daring moves.
He explained that if would have listened to his body and taken time off competitive running to take of himself, maybe he would have been successful in the subsequent events and won gold medals.
“What you find in most cases, is that the Europeans and Americans with the money and the connection that they would rather lose out on a season than to chase that quick money,” Haughton said.
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“They would make sure that the problem is properly researched, properly fixed and then they would come back, bigger, better and with vengeance. Some people said that Asafa was chasing the money and did not give his injury enough time to heal. Asafa should have settled, he should have fixed the problem and then returned.”