The town of Rieti in Italy has long had a reputation for giving its visitors spiritual powers beyond the norm as Asafa Powell found out on Sunday when he broke the 100m world record.

Nestled in the hills about an hour or so north east of the nation's capital its ancient history includes a period when it was a favoured papal seat and saw the anointing of kings and saints. Its prowess as a sporting venue does not seem to have been the stuff of local legend, not until the 1980s anyway.

In 1983 Steve Ovett was invited to compete at the track at the end of a troubled season and in the twilight of a glittering career. He stunned the crowd and the athletics world by breaking the record for 1500m when most thought those days were over for him.

In the following years Rieti became a mecca for middle-distance runners looking for fast times, with a further five records tumbling over time. Its place in distance running folklore was assured long since but then on Sunday Powell added to its status. Sprinters have never found the meet much to their liking, with the stadium record before this weekend standing at 9.99sec.

Even Michael Johnson only managed 44.20 around its tight bends. Powell's times in both of his races will widen the discussion around this intriguing venue and what exactly are its hidden secrets.

When Ovett ran that record in September 1983 there was talk of a "short track" or that the race had started from the wrong line. I raced there on a few occasions and in 1986 had a baffling afternoon. First of all I ran a stupidly quick 800m at the end of a tiring season and after a couple of late nights. Half an hour later I watched as Seb Coe smashed his personal best and almost the world record over 1500m. We were all open-mouthed because this was five years beyond his record-breaking year in 1981 and even he looked shocked.

If the track was short then how come the 400m boys weren't all clocking best times? The meet promoter, Sandro Giovanelli, an IAAF council member, will tell you it has been measured more times than any other track in the world.