stuttgart, germany, (cmc)

Jamaican Asafa Powell has come to the defence of teammate and sprint phenomenon Usain Bolt, following recent comments made by American sprint legend Carl Lewis.

Lewis raised stern doubts over Bolt's recent stunning performances but stopped short of accusing the 22-year-old Jamaican sprint marvel of doping.

He said questions needed to be asked when a runner could lower his times from 10.03 seconds to a World record 9.69 seconds in the space of a year, an assertion dismissed by Powell.

"I am disappointed with the words of a former athlete," said Powell, after winning the men's 100 metres in 9.87seconds at the IAAF World Athletic Finals in Stuttgart on Saturday.

"Usain did better than all the other athletes before him and yet he (Lewis) does not manage to believe in him."

Raised eyebrows

Bolt raised eyebrows in Beijing last month when he sped to World record times in capturing three gold medals at the 29th Olympiad.

He clocked 9.69 seconds to win the 100 metres and returned to break American Michael Johnson's 12-year-old, 200 metres record of 19.32 seconds with a new time of 19.30.

The 22-year-old then crowned a fine outing with his third gold as a member of the Jamaica sprint relay team, in another World record clocking.

Powell, himself a former World record holder for the 100 metres, said he was not surprised to see Bolt's total dominance this season.

"What Usain did does not shock me because I know how much talent he has and this is the first year he has devoted his training to the 100 metres," said a soft-spoken Powell, who collected the baton from Bolt to anchor Jamaica in the sprint relay at the Olympics.

Lewis, the star of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with four gold medals, also questioned Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown's failure to make the 100 metres team for the recent Olympics.