KINGSTON – Jamaican sprint ace Asafa Powell wants to silence his critics and avenge his defeat to American Tyson Gay, when the two sprinters clash at the Aviva London Grand Prix on July 25.

Powell, the former world 100 metres record holder with 9.74 seconds, made the comments during an interview on a television channel here last week.

"I just want to get this behind me because people have Tyson Gay's name in their heads, saying Asafa can't beat him. I just want to get this out of their heads," the Commonwealth Games champion said.

Powell suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Gay at last year's World Championships in Osaka, Japan, after he panicked midway through the sprint and allowed the American to surge past him. However, just when Gay began to appear unstoppable, he was soundly beaten by Jamaican Usain Bolt in New York on May 31, with Bolt setting a world record at 9.72 seconds.

Powell, who returned to action recently after a layoff from a shoulder injury he sustained in April, said he would put the issue to rest in London and then focus firmly on the Beijing Olympics.

"Usain Bolt beat him already, so I just want to go out there now and put him behind me. Then [I want to] focus on everything else," said Powell. (CMC)