Powell signs up for London

The fastest man on the planet Asafa Powell will run at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix next month.

Powell, who became the world 100m record holder after clocking 9.77 in Athens earlier this month, is the latest star name to be attracted to Britain's premier athletics event which is an IAAF Super Grand Prix meeting..

The 22-year-old Jamaican, who is the Overall IAAF World Ranked number one, shaved one-hundredth of a second off the old mark set by Tim Montgomery in Paris three years ago and says he can go even faster:

"I know I have the ability to lower the 100 metres World record even further. Last year at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix I ran 9.91 seconds and if the conditions are right, I can clearly go faster."

"The meeting is always high quality and the showdown with Maurice Greene, Kim Collins and the leading British athletes should be amazing so close to the World Championships."

Meeting Director Ian Stewart remains in talks with several other top sprinters and is promising to deliver the finest 100m race in the world this year:

"The Norwich Union London Grand Prix has a reputation of delivering 'must-see' races and I am confident that the Men’s 100 metres will feature most of the leading stars. It will be the best sprint race in the world so far this year."

World champion Kim Collins, former Olympic gold medallist Maurice Greene and leading British athletes Mark Lewis-Francis and Jason Gardener have already been confirmed for the race.