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2012 pressure could be too much for Brits - Powell

Asafa Powell is hoping to improve on his major championship record in Daegu © Getty Images

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Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell has warned the pressure of competing in front of a home crowd at London 2012 could prove too much for British athletes to handle.

Powell, the fastest man over 100 metres in the world this year, has often been accused of crumbling under pressure - frequently underperforming in major championship finals despite being, on paper, the quickest man in the field.

Powell is in London to compete at the Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace on Friday, his last race before the World Championships in Daegu. After the event in South Korea all attentions will switch to next summer's Olympic Games, but Powell warns that could cause problems for members of Team GB.

"Having a home crowd, with all the expectations, is too much," said Powell. "I'm sure the British athletes would want to disappear next year because there will be so much pressure. People will be expecting them to win but it's not like that. The best athlete will win."

Powell ran 9.78s seconds in Lausanne in June, the fastest time recorded by anyone so far this season. But despite having run sub-10 seconds over 70 times in his career, Powell has warned the crowd on Friday not to expect a blistering run.

"This is my last race before Daegu," Powell added. "It's important to test where you are and make sure everything is working fine, but you still have to be cautious, make the right decisions, decide is it smart to run fast or take it easy?

"To get 100 sub-10 runs in my career would be really good. It's amazed me that I can be so consistent. I'm surprised my legs can still do it because I have been running for so long."

As for his own high-profile failings, Powell admits he could have done things differently.

"Over the years I've been running fast times," the 28-year-old added. "I remember in 2005 when I broke the world record but I made a few mistakes and got injured.

"In 2007 I was too confident. I was the fastest person in that World Championship final but finished third and 9.86 won the final when I was a 9.7 runner.

"I've been making a lot of mistakes over the years, too many mistakes. If I had run like I should I would have got gold medals at all these championships.

"I'm used to the criticism about not doing it at the big championships. It's true in some ways and I've had to learn to live with it. I don't have much time so I'm not going to waste my chances."

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