Asafa Powell admitted he felt ''pretty relaxed'' on his way to lowering his own world 100 metres record to 9.74 seconds at the IAAF Grand Prix meeting in Rieti, Italy.

Powell struck 0.03sec from his previous best, a mark he has achieved on three occasions in the last two years.

The 24-year-old Jamaican, who was a disappointing third at the World Championships in Osaka, first ran 9.77sec at the Athens Super Grand Prix in June 2005.

He matched that time at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Gateshead in June 2006 and again two months later in the Zurich Golden League meeting.

Powell's new record came in the second semi-final at the Italian meeting and, although he was aided by a trailing wind of 1.7 metres-per-second, his time could have been even better had he not slowed up approaching the line.

He said: ''It felt pretty relaxed, my biggest concern was getting ready for the final.''

In that final, he ran 9.78sec to finish well ahead of countryman Michael Frater and Norway's Saidy Ndura Jaysuma.

Powell now holds the world record outright. The USA's Justin Gatlin also ran 9.77sec in May last year, although he is likely to have his performance annulled if he is found guilty of an anti-doping violation.

Hopes of another record in the final were virtually ruled out when the wind dropped and it registered zero when the race eventually got under way.

Powell was again in blistering form and became the first man to run under 9.80sec twice in a period of less than two hours.

The Commonwealth champion is scheduled to run at the Brussels Golden League meeting on Friday where Tyson Gay, the newly crowned 100m world champion, is also racing.

The American is carrying a hamstring injury which forced him to pull out of the 100m in last Friday's Golden League event in Zurich, although he did contest the 4x100m relay.

''They are both down to compete, but whether it is in the same race, I don't yet know,'' said Wilfried Meert, the organiser of the Ivo Van Damme event.