Sprinter Asafa Powell has confidently predicted he will beat his 100 metres world record and become the first person to clock under 9.70 seconds.

The 24-year-old Jamaican ran a blistering time of 9.74secs at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rieti on Sunday, beating by 0.03secs the previous record he shared with American Justin Gatlin.

''I love this track, it's very fast and bouncy,'' said Powell after his phenomenal performance in his heat and an equally impressive winning time of 9.78secs in the final.

Statisticians who watched the qualifier insist if he had not slowed 15 metres from the finishing line, he would have almost certainly produced a mark of 9.72secs.

Powell is convinced he can go much faster than their estimates.

''This means that I can do even 9.68secs, I'm worth that time, I know it,'' said Powell, whose victory made up for the disappointment of finishing third at the World Championships.

''Today I ran like I should have done at the Worlds,'' he told reporters. ''In Osaka I was too tense, I was thinking about the race and the time I had to set. Instead here I was relaxed.''