Date:13/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/13/stories/2006111311571800.htm

Sport - Athletics

Powell and Richards win awards

MONTE CARLO: Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell and American 400m runner Sanya Richards were named World Athletes of the Year by the IAAF on Sunday.

Powell won the men's title after twice equalling his World record of 9.77 seconds in the 100 metres, while Richards broke the long-standing American 400m record held by Valerie Brisco.

Having set the World record in June 2005 in Athens, Greece, Powell equalled it in June at the British Grand Prix in Gateshead, England, and again in August at the Weltklasse in Zurich, Switzerland.

In September, World silver medallist Richards clocked 48.70 seconds at the Athens World Cup, beating Brisco's mark of 48.83 at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. — AP