RALEIGH (North Carolina), July 15: Injured world and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin will not race 100 metres co-world record holder Asafa Powell at this month's London grand prix meeting, the organiser said on Friday.

“We have been told that he is out, that he is injured and he won't be running,” Ian Stewart, organiser for the July 28 meeting at Crystal Palace, said in an interview from England.

“And I have that in writing by the way (from Gatlin's agent Renaldo Nehemiah)”, Stewart added.

Nehemiah is in Europe and could not be reached for comment, but Stewart's remarks were news to Gatlin, who missed meetings in Athens and Lausanne because of injuries to his right knee and calf.

“At this point in time, I have not made a decision yet,” Gatlin said.

“That (running London) is what my heart is set on. That is what I am working on.”

The eagerly anticipated showdown would be the first since the pair met at Crystal Palace last July. Powell pulled up in that race with a groin injury that ended his season.

Gatlin said he was continuing to work out and planning to run some 150 metres in training on Friday.

He stated he had not told Nehemiah to withdraw him from the London meeting and, after hearing Stewart's comments, said he would need to talk to his agent.—Reuters