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World's Fastest ShamAsafa Powell just set the world record in the 100 meters. Big whoop.

By Edward McClellandPosted Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, at 10:32 AM ET

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The excuse sounds even lamer now that he's passing up a chance to prove that he can beat Gay. To be fair, Gay has also avoided rematches with Powell, saying he doesn't want to race the Jamaican unless he's "100 percent." Powell and Gay probably won't meet again until next August, in Beijing. If Powell wins there, he can put his name next to Michael Johnson's in the track pantheon. If not, he'll be just another World's Fastest Man. It won't be long before we have a new one, in a sleeker bodysuit, on a springier track, with a stronger wind at his back.

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Edward McClelland is the author of The Third Coast, a Great Lakes travelogue. He blogs about the region at That's What I Like About The North.
Photograph of Asafa Powell by Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty Images.
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