ATHENS, June 14: Jamaica’s Asafa Powell broke the 100 metres world record on Tuesday running 9.77 seconds. The 22-year-old’s mark eclipses the old time of 9.78sec set by Tim Montgomery in Paris in September 2002.

Powell, who failed to live up to his reputation in the Olympics last year finishing fifth in the final, blew away from the blocks and was never threatened as he finished metres ahead of his closest rival.

Powell’s mark, which was witnessed by only a handful of spectators in the Olympic stadium, comes on the same track where American Maurice Greene set the then world record in the same event of 9.79 in June 1999.

Chronology of the world 100m record

Chronology of the men’s world 100m record after Jamaica’s Asafa Powell set the new mark of 9.77sec here on Tuesday:

9.95 - Jim Hines (USA) 14/10/68 at Mexico

9.93 - Calvin Smith (USA) 03/07/83 at Colorado Springs (USA)

9.92 - Carl Lewis (USA) 24/09/88 at Seoul

9.90 - Leroy Burrell (USA) 14/06/91 at New York

9.86 - Carl Lewis (USA) 25/08/91 at Tokyo

9.85 - Leroy Burrell (USA) 06/07/94 at Lausanne (SUI)

9.84 - Donovan Bailey (CAN) 27/07/96 at Atlanta (USA)

9.79 - Maurice Greene (USA) 16/06/99 at Athens

9.78 - Tim Montgomery (USA) 14/09/02 at Paris

9.77 - Asafa Powell (JAM) 14/06/05 at Athens.—AFP