Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell hug after the 100m race at the National Trials in Jamaica in June. - ian allen

beijing, china

FORMER world 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell has jumped to the defence of fellow speedster Usain Bolt after the world 100 and 200 metres record holder was chided for excessive celebrations before, during and after his gold medal runs on Sunday and Wednesday by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge yesterday.

"He (Bolt) was not disrespecting anybody," Powell said yesterday.

"Usain was just doing his own thing. He was just having fun," Powell, who had just led Jamaica to victory in one semi-final of the 4x100m, said.

"He was not talking against anybody, just having fun out there and enjoying himself," Powell added.

Meeting with Rogge

President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Mike Fennell, who is attending the Games said Friday morning here (Beijing is 13 hours ahead of Jamaica) that he will be seeking a meeting with Rogge.

"I only heard about it (the comments about Bolt) last night and I am proposing to seek a meeting with the president this morning to clarify and to know how to respond," Fennell said.

Bolt dropped his hand and beat his chest in celebration just before hitting the line in the 100 metres. Then, wrapped in the Jamaican flag, he kissed his running shoes and gave an exhibition of several local dancehall moves.

This, Rogge said, was against the spirit of the Games.

"That's not the way we perceive being a champion," an Associated Press report quoted Rogge as saying. According to the report, Rogge made his comments to three international news agencies.

The report went on to say that the IOC boss hailed Bolt's stunning achievements in the two sprints and compared him to American great Jesse Owens who won the sprint double at the 1936 Games in Berlin, Germany, but said Bolt should have cut out the look-at-me flaunting and acknowledged the other athletes.

More respect

The AP report said: "I have no problem with him doing a show. I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 metres."

Bolt, on Wednesday, became the first athlete in 24 years to win the sprint double at the Olympic Games. On Sunday, he won the 100 metres in 9.69 second taking three-hundredths of a second off his own mark. Then three days later he sped to victory in the 200 metres in 19.30 clipping two-hundredths of a second off the mark which was held by American Michael Johnson since 1996.