Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell - file photos

MVP coach Stephen Francis has expressed his doubts regarding world-record holder Usain Bolt's ability to withstand the heat expected from Asafa Powell this season.

Francis, quoted in an interview carried by the Australian online newspaper, said "I expect Asafa to be able to run well enough this year to break the world record,", and predicted Bolt, will not have things so easy against his athlete this season.

Based on indications, Powell, who had a personal-best 45.94 at the Sydney Track Classic, is expected to be faster this year.

a little different

"I don't know how good Usain Bolt is. People claim that he is Superman, but one thing I do know is we will find out this year, because if he is not Superman, he is going to find the (that) races with this Asafa Powell will be different than last year," warned Francis, who is on his way from a two-week training camp in Australia.

But, Bolt, who enjoyed world- record times of 9.69 and 19.30 clocking in the 100 and 200 metres, respectively, at last summer's Beijing Olympics, according to scientists, can go faster.

In the Olympic final, the athlete started to celebrate his victory, spreading his arms and beating his chest some 15 metres from the tape.

Last September, Norwegian physicist Hans Eriksen, analysing TV footage of the Olympic final, theorised Bolt could have run 9.55 seconds had he not slowed down.

9.48 seconds

Late last year, Stanford University biology Professor Mark Denny set about to estimate just how fast humans will be able to run and concluded that male sprinters could eventually get the 100-metre record down to 9.48 seconds.

In all of Bolt's 100-metre races last year, apart from his lone defeat to Powell in Stockholm, he has enjoyed effortless victories. In four clashes against Powell, Bolt has won three, including his Olympic victory.

Uncontrolled

But according to Francis:

Stephen Francis

" If Usain Bolt is Superman and can beat everybody without trying, then I think he will handle it (pressure) quite well. But I think they is going to be a problem if he is more mortal than they think he is, and he has to work hard to maintain his form."

Francis admitted Bolt has always been a star and was expected to be a star, which could make him tough to control.

"In Usain's mind there can be no superlatives that he doesn't believe,"

"So it can become difficult for him to be controlled, and for him to continue to do well. If he is not Superman, he has to be controlled and only time will tell how successful his handlers are," the report concluded.