2003
Powell came to attention within the world of athletics at the 2003 World Championships, when he suffered the ignominy of being 'the other athlete' disqualified for a false start in the quarter-final. This was when Jon Drummond memorably refused to leave the track having suffered the same fate, both athletes moved less than 0.1 s after the gun had fired, with Powell's reactions being timed at 0.086 s. Six days later Powell was added to the 4×100 m relay team for the semi-final, running as the anchor. He helped the team qualify for the final, recording the second fastest time. Powell never had a chance to run for a medal in the final as the second baton exchange was not executed cleanly and the Jamaican team failed to finish.
During the 2003 season, Powell won two IAAF Grand Prix events, one of which was an AF Golden League event. He finished seventh in 10.23 s in the 100 m at the IAAF World Athletics Final.
2004
On June 12 Powell recorded his first sub-10 100 m race time (9.99 s +1.8 m/s) while participating in the National Junior Track and Field Championships, held at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town. Two weeks later Powell became one of the favorites for a medal in the 100 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics after winning the Jamaican National Championships with a personal best time of 9.91 s. Although he ended the season with a record-equaling nine sub-10 second runs, Powell finished just fifth in the highly competitive Olympic final, with a time of 9.94 s. Following this he pulled out of the 200 m final, even though he had already qualified eighth for it earlier on. Powell did not get the chance to run for a medal in the 4x100 m relay, as the Jamaican team failed to qualify for the final, with a season best 38.71 fourth place finish in their heat. He recorded five IAAF Grand Prix wins in 2004. In addition, he won the 100 m and 200 m races at the World Athletics Final, setting championship records in both, and is the only man to win both races at the same World Athletics Final to date. Powell was world ranked number one for the 100 m and number four for the 200 m at the end of the season.
2005
In 2005 Powell again won the 100 m Final at the Jamaican National Championships. He gained some consolation for his Olympic performance by breaking the 100 m world record in Athens on June 14, 2005, setting a time of 9.77 s, beating American Tim Montgomery's 2002 record of 9.78 s (which was later annulled due to doping charges against Montgomery) by just 0.01 s. Coincidentally, Powell achieved the feat on the same track as Maurice Greene's 1999 world record run of 9.79 s. Wind assistance for Powell was measured at 1.6 m/s, within the IAAF legal limit of 2.0 m/s. A groin injury in July cut short his season, which ended with just two IAAF Grand Prix event wins. Despite his shortened season, Powell had the three fastest 100 m times of the year, received the Caribbean And Central American (CAC) Male Athlete of the Year award, and ranked second in the world.
2006
2006 was Powell's most successful season. He won the 2006 Commonwealth Games 100 metres race after a drama-filled semi-final which saw two disqualifications and three false starts. Powell himself ran into another competitor's lane while looking at the scoreboard, however he was held not to have impeded the runner. He also anchored the 4×100 m relay team, and finished the Commonwealth Games with two gold medals. In May he won the 100 m at the Jamaica International Invitational in 9.95. In addition to winning the 200 m at the Jamaican National Championships in June, he won ten 100 m IAAF Grand Prix events, including all six Golden League events. Powell then equaled his world record time on June 11, 2006, at Gateshead International Stadium, with wind assistance measured at +1.5 m/s. The exact time was 9.7629 which was rounded up to 9.77 as per IAAF rules.
On August 18, 2006, in Zürich, Powell equaled it again for the second time, with wind assistance at +1.0 m/s. He won his sixth IAAF Golden League event (in the 100 m) the same season, thus earning him a total of $250,000 in prize money. Powell also won the 100 m at the World Athletics Final, again setting a new championship record on September 9. One week later at the World Cup in Athletics the Americas team anchored by Powell recorded a DNF. In October Powell again received the Caribbean And Central American (CAC) Male Athlete of the Year award.
On November 12, 2006, he was awarded the title of 2006 Male IAAF World Athlete of the Year along with a cheque for $100,000. He also received the honour of Track & Field Athlete of the Year for 2006.
2007
On January 5, 2007, Powell received the Commonwealth Games Sports Foundation Athlete of the Year award. On February 3 he was honored at the International Sports Group (ISG) Awards Banquet, held in New York. In addition, Powell was nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards Sportsman of the Year award. Suffering from knee Tendinitis and missing weeks of training Powell missed competing at the Penn Relays and the Jamaica International Invitational in May. Powell was again the Jamaican National Champion for the 100 m in 2007. Unfortunately, Powell again injured his groin while running the final at the Jamaica Championships. He only managed to finish third in the 100 m final at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, behind Tyson Gay, who was considered Powell's biggest rival building up to the Championships. Derrick Atkins, Powell's second cousin, came second in 9.91 s. Powell himself finished in a time of 9.96 s (running in a 0.5 m/s headwind) after being passed by Gay and Atkins in the late stages of the race. Later he admitted that after seeing Gay pass him, he panicked and gave up, allowing Atkins to also overtake.
2008
On January 29, 2008, Powell received the RJR Sports Foundation's 2007 Sportsman of the Year award. Powell's 2008 season started much as his 2007 season ended: with another injury. Powell was forced to pull out of the Sydney Grand Prix meeting, having suffered a gash to his left knee that required four stitches. The injury was a result of tripping on the steps of his home, hours before getting on the flight to Sydney on February 12.
Powell was again injured in April, this time with damage to his pectoral muscles. The injury forced Powell out of competition for two months, and was sustained while weight training in Jamaica during mid-April. Surgery was required, and a visible scar was left on his right underarm.
On May 31, fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt ran a time of 9.72 s at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City, breaking Powell's three-year dominance of the 100 m world record.
On July 11, Powell suffered his third injury of 2008 while leading in Heat 1 of the Golden Gala Roma, eventually finishing fifth. He had injured his groin (described as a "strain" and a "cramp"), and was forced to miss the next two events on the Grand Prix schedule. Powell made his comeback at the DN Galan meet, where he beat the new World Record holder Bolt, in a close race. The meet's top performers were a Jamaican 1-2-3-4 with Nesta Carter and Michael Frater following the pair. This top four would later combine to run the 4×100m relay at the Olympics.
Prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Powell hit back at the claims saying he lacked the mental strength needed to win an Olympic gold medal.
Despite his words, the 100m final saw Powell again finish in a disappointing fifth, recording a time of 9.95s. Teammates Bolt and Michael Frater also raced in the final. Bolt won and broke the record he set months earlier (finishing in 9.69s) and Frater came sixth, recording his first sub-10 clocking at 9.97s.
Seven days later, Powell finally got his first Olympic gold as he anchored the Jamaican 4×100 m relay team to victory, helping establish a new world record in the process. His split time was recorded at 8.70s (USATF High Performance Registered Split Analysis), bettering his previous record of 8.84s set in Osaka, 2007. This is the fastest electronically timed anchor run in history, as Bob Hayes was hand timed as running between 8.6-8.9seconds in the 1964 Olympics.
On September 2, 2008, Powell ran a new personal best in the 100m by recording a time of 9.72s, with windspeed measured at +0.2m/s. He accomplished this feat at the Athletissima Grand Prix in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Following his fifth place finish in Beijing on August 16, Powell recorded seven consecutive 100m races under 9.90s, including two races under 9.80s. In addition, 2008 was Powell's second-best season on the Grand Prix circuit, claiming seven victories, plus his third consecutive win (and fourth overall) in the 100m at the World Athletics Final.
On his return to Jamaica, Powell was honoured in a homecoming celebration and received an Order of Distinction (Commander Rank) in recognition of his achievements at the Olympics. For the second consecutive year Powell ranked second in the world.
2009
Powell opened his season on January 31 at the Grace Jackson Invitational, held at Stadium East, Kingston, Jamaica. He ran the 400 metres, winning his heat in 47.75s, placing him second overall in the four heat time-final.
Powell ran the anchor leg for two relay teams at the Milo Western Relays held at the GC Foster College on February 14. In his first race, his MVP team recorded a new meet record and world leading time of 38.72s for the 4×100m relay. Later he was timed at 46.27 for his leg of the 4×400 metres relay, again winning the race for his MVP team.
Powell next competed in the Sydney Track Classic in Australia on February 28, again running the anchor leg in the 4x100m relay and winning the event in a new world leading time of 38.62s. Two hours later he ran a 400m race, finishing fourth in a new personal best 45.94s, shaving 1.23seconds off his previous best time.
Five days later Powell ran his first 100m race of the season. Competing at the Melbourne Track Classic he ran a world leading 10.23s, wind measuring -1.4m/s on the coldest day of the year to date.
On April 16 Powell was nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year award, as a member of the 2008 Jamaica Olympic Sprint Team.
Powell then found himself involved in controversy when he was a last-minute "no show" at the UTech Track and Field Classic on April 18. It had previously been announced that Powell would run the 200 m and 4x100 m relay races. Powell attended the meet as a spectator. A press conference called three days later by the MVP Track Club did not fully answer questions as to why Powell did not compete. The matter was reported to the Jamaica Fair Trading Commission who announced on April 23 that they started investigations.
Powell was next to run at the Penn Relays on April 25 but on the morning of the event the Jamaica Observer reported that he had withdrawn from the 4x100 m relay. His manager Paul Doyle stated that Powell would not run due to concerns with his ankle while running the curve on the Franklin Field track. The Jamaica Observer cited a "highly placed source" when reporting that Powell had turned his ankle in training at Utech. Despite the report, Powell ran the anchor leg of the relay but aggravated the ankle injury, pulled up and finished ninth in 41.24
Scheduled to run at the IAAF Super Grand Prix in Doha on May 8, Powell withdrew from the event, citing the need for sufficient time for his injured ankle to properly heal. He finished seventh in his first event returning from injury, the Reebok Grand Prix held in New York at Icahn Stadium on May 30. When interviewed he stated that his ankle was very weak but not painful. He finished second in his next event, the Prefontaine Classic eight days later. On the June 27 he qualified for the 100 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics with a second place finish in 9.97 s at the Jamaican national championships. At the Bislett Games on July 3 Powell overcame a poor start to win the 100 m in a 10.07 s photo finish. Four days later he recorded the same time in winning the Athletissima 100 m. Although he improved his season's best to 9.88 he finished second to Tyson Gay at the Golden Gala Roma on July 10. Powell next ran the 100 m at the International Meeting of Athletics' Sports Solidarity, a charity event that encourages the participation of disabled athletes, finishing third.
At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, Powell took bronze in the finals of the 100 m meet with a time of 9.84 seconds, while compatriot Bolt broke his own world record by running 9.58 seconds. Eight days later, on the 22nd of August, Powell helped Jamaica claim gold in the 4 x 100 m relay by running the anchor leg. The time of 37.31 seconds set was a new Championship Record for the event.
