Asafa Powell Runs 9.72-Second 100 Meters, Fastest Non-Usain Bolt Time Ever

Where was this Asafa Powell in the Olympic 100 meter finals?

That was Powell blowing away the field -- a field that did not include fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt -- with a 9.72-second sprint at the IAAF Super Grand Prix event.

If Powell had run that well in Beijing, he might have forced Bolt to run a little harder in the 100-meter dash finals and shave a little more time off his world record. As it happened, Bolt coasted to the finish line in 9.69 seconds, while Powell finished fifth in 9.95.

Powell's 9.72-second 100 is the second-fastest time in history, but it's a sad fact of life as a sprinter that if you run the second-fastest time in history at any meet other than the Olympics, no one notices.