ROME, July 8: World 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell has been forced to pull out of Friday’s Rome Golden League showdown with Olympic champion Justin Gatlin because of injury, the event organisers announced on their website.

The Jamaican, who last month ran 9.77 to shave one hundredth of a second off American Tim Montgomery’s previous world best, was expected to head a star-studded race at the Olympic Stadium.

However, he has failed to recover from an injury he suffered in winning the national title two weeks ago.

The 100 metres, which was originally billed as having the best lineup since the Olympic final in Athens last year, was further weakened by the withdrawal of Olympic silver medallist, Portuguese Francis Obikwelu, who said he was not in racing form.—Reuters