Asafa Powell not taking 'lazy' approach to 2012

NEW YORK -- As last summer's World Championships crept closer, the reality that he wouldn't be joining his Jamaican teammates on the track in Daegu hit Asafa Powell like a ton of bricks.

Before being done in by a groin injury, Powell had been running faster than he ever had in a major championships year and was a popular choice to finally emerge from behind the shadow of shortcoming that has cast a pall over the most consistent sprint career in the history of track and field.

There is no solace to be taken from 76 sub-10-second 100m races when you are rendered the second-fastest spectator on the planet.

"I started feeling very disappointed maybe a week before the championships started," Powell said on the eve of the U.S. Open. "I felt alone. You said if I was there maybe things would have been different. In the back of my head, I was thinking that as well. I was using a lot of my energy thinking about that and wishing for something that wasn't meant to be."

But rather than sulk or question the fates, Powell looked in the mirror and came to a stark realization, one he hopes will finally propel him to greatness at the Olympics in London.

"Over the years I have been kind of lazy, thinking my talent alone can do it," Powell said in a frank admission. "This year, I am trying something new. This year I am not missing training. I am trying to attend every training session and do all of my workouts."

Since 2008, when his world record and reign over the men's sprints were emphatically usurped by fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt, Powell has spent more time injured than he has challenging his friend and rival. The two have raced just twice in the last two years, and over the last three-plus seasons, Powell has been slowed by ankle, toe, hamstring, back and groin issues.

He said that he believed that litany of injuries was caused by overtraining, which led him to ease up his workout regimen.

"I tried to push myself to the limit and got injuries so I kind of backed off a bit and said to myself, ‘Maybe the harder I train the more injuries I'll get,'" Powell said. "I tried that and it didn't work."

So Powell has resumed full-bore training, only now he has employed a new doctor on his support team who will travel with him to meets as well. He has also resumed competing during the indoor season, something he has not done in eight years.

"Asafa has come in with a new attitude, quite honestly, the best attitude we have ever seen him train with," Powell's manager Paul Doyle told The Associated Press. "He is getting to bed earlier than he has in the past. He is not partying anymore, nothing like that. He has a new outlook. Most of his career, he worked hard - don't get me wrong - but he didn't do anything and everything he needs to do."

Powell said part of that was brought on by the realization that he isn't getting any younger.

"My age is running about as fast as I am," he said. "From Day 1 I wasn't planning to run until I am very old. I am almost 30 so I am approaching this one as if it will be my last Olympic Games. I want to put out 110 percent to make sure that I am up at the top."

If Powell proved anything in 2011 it was that he still belongs in the conversation of the world's best sprinters - his 9.78 in Lausanne was the second-fastest time in the world on the season.

He openly acknowledges that he has fallen behind Bolt and young Yohan Blake, another Jamaican who won the 100m world title in Daegu, in the consciousness of most observers, but his perceived standing with fans and pundits does not concern him.

"It doesn't bother me," Powell said. "Maybe I am too laid back. I don't really listen to people or let what they say affect me. When someone new comes on, everyone gravitates toward them. I know what I can do. I still have my fans and I am still working hard. People will always say this and that, but it's what you do on the day that counts."

While that has not been Powell's strong suit, he is determined to change that in 2012.

"In life, if you give up very easily then you are not a champion," he said. "I want to be remembered as one of the greatest sprinters who has ever touched the track. I want to be a great champion and I am working toward it. I'm not going to give up."