STAWELL, Australia (AP) — Asafa Powell will find the crowd smaller and the surface a whole lot different when he competes this weekend in the Stawell Gift, a century-old handicap race held in a small town in western Victoria state.
Powell, who says he's fully recovered from the left hamstring injury which caused him to pull up in the 100-meter race at the London Olympics won by his countryman Usain Bolt, will start from scratch.
Starting from a mark one meter ahead of him will be Australia's best sprinter, Josh Ross, who has twice won the 131-year-old Stawell Gift and is one of only two runners to win it off scratch.
Other competitors will be lined up at various starting positions on the grass track according to their 100-meter qualifying times.