REITI (ITALY) - ASAFA Powell is the world's fastest man - of that there is no doubt after he rewrote his own world mark in the 100 metres on Sunday.

Now, he just needs to win a race that matters. To that end, the Jamaican has set his sights on next year's Olympics in Beijing.

'Next year, my only goal is the Olympics,' he said yesterday, a day after improving his time by three-hundredths of a second to 9.74 seconds at the Rieti Grand Prix in Italy.

'I plan to race many more times before the Olympics than I did this year.'

He has a reputation for falling short in big races, having never won gold at the Olympics or World Championships.

He finished a disappointing third behind American rival Tyson Gay and Derrick Atkins at the World Championships in Osaka last month. And to think it was his first medal in a major competition.

Powell, 24, was disqualified for a false start at the 2003 World Championships and missed the 2005 edition with a groin injury. In between, he finished fifth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

'This record makes me happy but it doesn't cancel out the bitterness from Osaka,' said the Jamaican, who had set his latest record in the second of two heats.

The fact that he had eased off to conserve himself for the final made him even more confident that he would lower the mark further. He said: 'This means that I can do even 9.68. I'm worth that time, I know it.'

The record was set with a strong tail wind of 1.7 metres per second, but it was below the maximum allowed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), making it valid.

In the final, he won in 9.78, with no tail wind. Countryman Michael Frater was second in 10.03, followed by Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Norway in 10.10.

Rieti is a fast track on which six middle-distance world records have been set. That was not lost on Powell.

'It's a very fast track. I love this track. It's very bouncy,' said the Jamaican, who trains in Italy three months of the year. 'Italy is a good place for me. It's my second home.'

He is only the fourth non-American to hold the 100m world record since 1912. Donovan Bailey of Canada (1996), Armin Hary of West Germany (1960) and Percy Williams of Canada (1930) are the others.

He won the Commonwealth Games title last year, but that race did not feature any Americans and he was nearly disqualified after veering into a rival's lane during the semi-finals.

'Zero tension, zero pressure,'' Powell said. 'Today, I ran like I should have done at the worlds. In Osaka, I was too tense, I was thinking about the race and the time I had to set. Here, I was relaxed.'

Powell and Gay had not raced each other until Osaka last month. There were great expectations from the showdown between the world record-holder and this year's fastest man.

But, while Gay held his end of the bargain, Powell fizzled out and later admitted that he had panicked and given up when he saw the American gaining on him.

But, he has vowed to make amends. 'That was a race I had to win and I didn't. Enough. I lost,' he said. 'The real Powell is the one from today, not the Osaka one.'

He should get the chance to show the world the 'real Powell' this Sunday. Both he and Gay are scheduled to compete at the Golden League's Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels, Belgium.

He is looking forward to it, saying: 'I want to get used to the confrontation. I have no problem racing against Tyson Gay.'

He first set the world record of 9.77 in June 2005 in Athens.

Justin Gatlin matched the time in May 2006, but the American faces a suspension of up to eight years following a positive doping test.

In June 2006, Powell again ran 9.77, and then did it a third time in August 2006.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, REUTERS

Just how good is this guy?

CENTURY sprint world record under 10 seconds:

9.95sec: Jim Hines (USA), Oct 14, 1968

9.93: Calvin Smith (USA), July 3, 1983

9.92: Carl Lewis (USA), Sept 24, 1988

9.90: Leroy Burrell (USA), June 14, 1991

9.86: Lewis, Aug 25, 1991

9.85: Burrell, July 6, 1994

9.84: Donovan Bailey (Can), July 27, 1996

9.79: Maurice Greene (USA), June 16, 1999

9.78: Tim Montgomery (USA), Sept 14, 2002 (erased after drugs ban)

9.77: Asafa Powell (Jam, left), June 14, 2005; Justin Gatlin (USA), May 12, 2006 (pending arbitration hearing into drug use)

9.74: Powell, Sept 9, 2007

REUTERS