Not wanting to risk further injury with just weeks to go before the Beijing Olympics, Asafa Powell has withdrawn from Gaz de France.

He will however, compete in the Super Grand Prix in Stockholm on July 22.

“The injury is not bad,” Asafa Powell’s agent Paul Doyle said. “It just made him realize that he has to get back into training a little bit. He wants to put in a full week of training. He’s been able to train fully. But to do Paris would interrupt training too much.”

Powell held the record for the 100 meters until Usain Bolt set a new world record in New York at the Reebok Grand Prix.

“I think having company now in that 9.7 range actually takes pressure off of him [Powell],” Doyle said. “Everyone has been expecting him to break the world record every time out and win every race.

“He’s training hard and fully expects to get his world record back at some stage. I think it’s exciting for the sport these guys to be racing each other and put up these fast times.”

Read more: Recovering from groin problem, Powell pulls out of Gaz de France