Powell attended
St. Jago High School in
Spanish Town and
Texas Christian University in
Fort Worth,
Texas. He represented the
TCU Horned Frogs while studying at the university.
1989 Powell finished second in the Under 20 Men 100m at the
CARIFTA Games, time 10.64 s, second in the 200 m in 21.8 s and first in the 4 × 100 m relay in 40.4 s
1990 Powell famously defeated Daniel England in the Class one 200 m at the ISSA High School Championships, giving England his only loss in four years at the Championships. At the
CARIFTA Games he won the Under 20 Men 200 m in 21.42 s (wind -3.7 m/s) as well as the 4 × 100 m relay in 40.66 s
1994 Powell finished third in the 100 m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and anchored the TCU 4 × 100 m relay team to first place.
1995 At the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, Powell finished second in the 55 m, his time 6.19 On 19 May Powell was hand timed at 9.7 s in Houston. It is a disqualified time for record purposes. Powell repeated his success at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, again anchoring the TCU 4 × 100 m relay team to first place, and finished second in the 100 m in his personal best 10.07. Powell received a three-month ban from competition for a doping offense as his test was positive for the stimulant
ephedrine. He was disqualified from participating in the
1995 World Championships in Athletics.
1996 In January Powell finished second by 0.01 seconds to Donovan Bailey in the 60 m at the Montreal Grand Prix. He had previously finished second to Bailey in the 50 m one week prior in Hamilton, and second again two days later in the 60 m behind Bruny Surin. Later in January, he won the 60 m at the Boston Indoor Games, in 6.64 s. He won the 60 m at the Atlanta US Indoor Championships in 6.55s in March.
1997 After the 1996 season his form declined and he did not manage to run under 10.20 seconds for the rest of his career. Slowest out of the starting blocks, Powell finished sixth in his second round heat of the 100 m at the
Athens World Championships in 10.35 s, and did not progress to the next round. The Jamaican team did not start the first heat of the 4 × 100 m relay, for which Powell was supposed to run first leg.
1998 At the Texas A&M All-Comers on 9 May, Powell recorded the fastest time in the 100 m, 10.16 s. This time made Powell the tenth ranked Commonwealth Athlete for the period January to August.
1999 In the February Stockholm Indoor Meeting Powell finished fourth in the 60 m final, in 6.68 s. At the
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in
Maebashi, Japan Powell finished sixth in the 60 m final with a time of 6.59 s.
2000 At the Sprint Invitational Track & Field Meet in January Powell finished fourth in heat one of the 60 m, in 6.78 s. Powell ran the first leg of the 4 × 100 m relay in round one of competition at the
Sydney Olympics. The team qualified for the semi-final with a time of 38.97 and eventually finished fourth in the final without Powell running a leg. At the Texas relays in April Powell helped to win the 4 × 100 m relay in 39.16, along with teammates Milton Mallard,
Kareem Streete-Thompson and
Obadele Thompson. In August Powell finished fourth in 10.44 in the 100 m in Lappeenranta, Finland.
2001 In February Powell won his heat of the University of Houston/Runsport All-Comers meet. His 60 m time was 6.88s. Powell finished seventh in the 100 m at the Jamaica National Championships in June, his time 10.31 s. At the CAC Championships in Guatemala City Powell finished seventh in the 100 m, his time 10.51 s. The 4 × 100 m relay team qualified with the second fastest time but recorded a DNF in the final.
Post competition life Powell is now a youth track coach in Texas. He also conducts speed enhancement clinics at other locals. ==Personal bests==