Former world record holder Asafa Powell has insisted that injuries and not mental weakness have led to a series of disappointing results in major events over the last couple of years, a trend the sprinter is determined to break this season.

In a few months' time when the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, beckons, Powell will once again get his shot at the top spot.

The man who thrilled the track and field world with super fast times in what seems to be an eternity ago, and especially since the emergence of countryman Usain Bolt, will have another chance to claim a major title, a prize it seems that has always eluded him. Few track and field fans world over would disagree that on occasion the bright spotlight has found Powell on the world's biggest platforms, it has often seemed to give the talented sprinter a severe case of stage fright.

"People say when I get to the championships I don't produce my best form," Powell said in an interview on the Mirror Sport (www.mirror.co.uk.)

"It might look that way but the issue has always been a physical problem - not a mental one," Powell added.

"Providing I am fit, I see no reason why I shouldn't be on the top of the podium come the World Championships. I know I can run very fast."

Setting the track and field world ablaze between 2005 and 2007, Powell has had his fair share of injury trouble, including last season when a promising start was cut short due to a hamstring injury and back problems.

"I was running really fast and would only have got faster. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance due to injury but this year, hopefully, I can pick up from where I left off," Powell said of a promising start last season.

However, so far this year, the 28-year-old sprinter feels close to top physical shape and believes an increased training workload is set to pay dividends on the track in Daegu, Korea, later this year.

"I feel in good shape and training is going well. My injury issues are 80 per cent better.

"By the time of the World Championships in August, I will definitely be 100 per cent in shape to finish in the top three, if not in first place," Powell continued.

With time becoming a factor for the ageing sprinter, in his quest for the ultimate crown, it remains to be seen as to whether Powell can get the better of compatriot and current world record holder, Bolt. Despite the fact that the lanky sprinter, an athlete with seemingly limitless potential, has captured the attention of the world with mind-numbing record runs, Powell has little doubt that he can.

"Every top athlete has to think like that," he said. "It will come down to who is in the best shape and who is most motivated on the day," Powell said.

"What gives me the belief I can win gold? The hard work I have put in.

"I know I'm capable of running very fast, I just haven't been able to put it down on the track because of all the injuries and setbacks I've had over the last couple of years.

"This year, I've not had any setbacks at all. I can really see my true potential."

Asafa Powell - file photos

In the 2004 Olympics in Athens, expected to get among the medals after going into the final with one of the best seasonal times, he finished fifth despite running 9.94; only three-tenths of a second outside of the national record he set earlier that year.

In 2005, he smashed his own national record with a time of 9.84, set at the Jamaica International Invitational. He then went on to break the world record in Athens, in June, setting a mark of 9.77. A groin injury, however, forced him to miss out on the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki. The 100m gold medal went to Justin Gatlin, who won in a time of 9.88.

In 2006, he equalled his world record twice, in July and August. He was named IAAF World Athlete of the Year and Track & Field Athlete of the Year for 2006.

In 2007 was crowned national champion, despite missing several weeks of training due to a knee injury. In winning that event, Powell, however, suffered a groin injury ahead of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan. The sprinter finished a surprising third in the event, in a time of 9.96, behind Tyson Gay (9.85) and Derrick Atkins (9.91) after holding the early lead.

In 2008 despite an injury-plagued season, he got the better of new world record holder Usain Bolt prior to the Beijing Olympic games. However, after promising much, he again finished a disappointing fifth, recording a time of 9.95, with Bolt going on to set a new record of 9.69.

In 2009 after finishing second at the National Trials amd after recovering from an ankle injury earlier sustained earlier in the year, went on to another third-place finish at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, in 9.84 behind Bolt who again set a new world record of 9.58 and Gay (9.71).

In 2010 after opening with a 100m world leading time of 9.83 and 9.07 in the rarely run 100 yards dash, he went on to lose to both Gay and then Bolt before a hamstring injury cut his season short.