CONGRATULATION CAMPBELL-BROWN AND POWELL

World Championships 100 metres gold medallist Veronica Campbell-Brown and world 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell were crowned RJR Sports Foundation’s 2007 Sportswoman and Sportsman of the year at the Jamaica Pegasus on January 29, 2008. Campbell-Brown and Powell are both happy that their hard works have been rewarded with the RJR Sports Foundation.

Campbell-Brown was celebrating her second athlete of year crown in a week. Campbell-Brown was an unchalleged winner of the Sportswoman of the year award after a blazing photo finish gold medal accomplishment in the women’s 100 metres in Osaka. In addition, she bagged silver medals in the 200 metres and the sprint relay.

“It is an honour and always great when you know you put in all the hard work and be rewarded,” Campbell said.

Powell took bronze in the 100m at the World Championships and silver in the sprint relay after running the last leg to a superb finish. Two weeks later, he lowered his own world record to a fantastic 9.74 seconds, extracting three hundredths of a second off the old mark.

Powell is the only man to have run legally under 9.80 seconds more than once, having done so five times, and is the only man to have run legally under 10.00 seconds 12 times in a single season. Powell won bronze in Osaka, finishing behind American World Champion Tyson Gay and Bahamian Derrick Atkins.

He was instrumental in Jamaica’s sprint-relay team’s silver medal winning effort in Osaka after collecting the baton fifth. The team blazed to a national record 37.89 seconds behind USA (37.78).

“I am happy to get this award for the second year in a row,” was Powell’s first reaction after the function, which was held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

The award was third in a row for Powell, while Campbell-Brown was collecting her second award.