2 World-class Sprinters to Run in Daegu Meet

Tyson Gay of the United States and Asafa Powell of Jamaica will compete in the men’s 100 meters at the Daegu International Track and Field Championship Sept. 25.

The scheduled participation of two of the world’s top sprinters gave a big boost to the championship, whose publicity was undermined by the snub of global sprinter sensation Usain Bolt.

Gay is the third sprinter to win three world titles, namely the men’s 100 and 200 meters and the 400-meter relay at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. He finished second in this year’s World Track and Field Championships in Berlin last month to Bolt.

Powell had held the world record of 9.72 seconds in the men’s 100 meters until Bolt shattered it at the Beijing Olympics last year with a time of 9.69 seconds. Powell finished third (9.84 seconds) in the Berlin event this year.

Gay and Powell will come to Korea after competing at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix Sunday.

yjongk@donga.com