Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell goes sailing at Marina Reservoir with Olympic gold medallist Shirley Robertson

Contributed by Ronda Ng.

Marina Reservoir, Saturday, December 12, 2009 – Olympic 4x100m gold medallist and previous 100m world record holder Asafa Powell was taken to new Extremes when he stepped on board double-Olympic Gold Medallist Shirley Robertson’s catamaran racing in the Extreme Sailing Series Asia in Singapore today.

The 27-year-old Jamaican sprinter was a guest on Rumbo Almeria, one of six teams taking part in the second leg of the Series at Marina Reservoir, under the world’s largest observation wheel, the Singapore Flyer.

“When I saw the size of his arms, I knew we had to get him to work!” laughed Robertson. Singing, “I Believe I Can fly” by R Kelly, Powell was put to work winching the 60 foot high mainsail on the Extreme 40.

“It was great to have such an athlete onboard – what a runner, awesome to meet him!” said Robertson. “We could see how fit he was from the moment he got on board so we worked him hard!”

“That was cool,” said bowman Steve Mitchell. “We got him sweating, didn’t let him stop from the moment he got on board the boat. He was commando-rolling across the trampoline, from one side to the other. For one of the fastest men in the world it seemed like a bit of a laborious way to get across the boat! But he got the hang of it – he loved it, thought it was great.”

The Singapore race is the second of three showcase events in Asia, which started at the end of November with five days of racing in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. The Series will finish in Muscat, Oman February 1-5.