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For a man who prides himself on being low-key, Tyson Gay has a lot to say about Usain Bolt, his rival and nemesis. The 26-year-old American has apparently become just another fan, not the other half of potentially the most explosive double act in the history of sprinting. “He’s a beast, a monster, a freak,” Gay says of Bolt. “He’s doing something no-one’s ever heard of. He’s in a class of his own, like LeBron James or David Beckham. It’s hard to study people like that.”
No theatrical impresario could have set the stage more perfectly for a meeting of the dual world and Olympic champions or created two more contrasting central characters. Gay the quiet Kentuckian versus Bolt the flamboyant Jamaican, a pair united by mutual respect and, seemingly, their desire to drag the tainted sport of athletics into a new drug-free era. Gay has willingly been recruited to the US Anti-Doping Agency’s Project Clean, which includes extensive testing and blood profiling. Bolt’s claims to be clean are given credence by his physique and the freakish nature of his talent. Nobody of 6ft 5in has ever presumed to become a sprinter before.
The two men travel to London this week for the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, where they will meet only in the 100m relay. Bolt will run the 100m on Friday evening, Gay the 200m on Saturday. It is a matter of scheduling rather than sidestepping, Gay said last week. “I’m aiming to go 19.5 or faster [for the 200m]. If I do that, I’m pretty sure Usain will take it into consideration.” Gay, who ran an astonishing 9.77sec in Rome recently, has already set down his marker for the event he still delightfully refers to as “the 100-metre dash”.
A full house at Crystal Palace will see the two fly-pasts, but the world championships in Berlin next month will be the backdrop for the real contest as Gay defends the two titles he won in Osaka two years ago against the one man he has yet fully to engage. The balance of power is different from a year ago. Gay was about to pull out of the London Grand Prix with a hamstring injury but he was still considered the favourite to win gold in Beijing. Bolt had just been beaten by Asafa Powell in Stockholm.
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A month later, Bolt ran 9.69sec doing cartwheels in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Gay, still hampered by injury, failed even to qualify for the Olympic final. Partly out of curiosity, partly as motivation, Gay watched the final live, leaving that night, like everyone else, with a sense of awe. Gay, it should be remembered, once ran 9.68 in the US trials, a time annulled because of the strength of the wind.
Last week, Gay was both generous in his assessment of Bolt’s talent and realistic about his own chances of retaining his titles. It did not sound like kidology. “I believe Usain’s the fastest man right now,” he said. “He’s the favourite and that’s good. He’s the Olympic champion and I’m having to prove myself again.
“This guy’s a beast. You can’t be sure of what he can do, and the pressure doesn’t seem to be getting to him. He’s having fun and he’s fearless. But I’ve just got to run my race and try not to focus too much on him. I feel like I can handle the pressure because I’ve won world titles, so I can do it again.
“The pressure’s not begun to build up yet. I’ve not had a lot of media attention, which is right because I haven’t done anything since 2007 that deserves any attention. But we’re very different characters anyway, with different styles. He loves the camera. What I do may be boring to some people but that’s the way I do things.”
Gay, though, did not attempt to underestimate the hypnotic effect that Bolt has exerted on the world of sprinting and his own psyche. No sooner had the 100m world record been posted in Beijing than Gay was mentally lifting himself to run sub- 9.7sec. Where the mind goes, he says, the body will follow. “When I saw Usain run 9.69, I knew I had to train my mind and body to go where no man had gone before. His mindset is on 9.5 — and not many people think like that. But I’ve got to do the same. It’s going to take time. I’ve got to practise being mentally strong.
“Can we go under 9.6 or 9.5 in Berlin? Usain certainly believes he can run that fast, and believing it comes first and foremost. Both world records [for 100m and 200m] could be broken if the track is fast and the wind favourable in Berlin. With Usain Bolt you
never know what’s in store.”
Gay has had to be patient in his own build-up to fitness and competitiveness. After his early exit from the Olympics, he returned to training to mend his hamstring as well as his confidence, emerging to run the third- fastest 200m in history — after Bolt and Michael Johnson — in New York in May and to stir a few memories with that 9.77sec in Rome.
Bolt’s response — a 9.79 in Paris last week — only confirmed the wellbeing of both men in the weeks before Berlin. For Gay, this weekend in London is a chance to make his presence felt once again, like a boxer entering the ring, and to hone his technique at 200m, the distance he truly regards as his own.
“It was always the plan to run the 200m in London,” he said. “I did 100m in the US trials and so needed to do 200m here. I do regard it as my event because I can have so much fun doing it. The 100m dash is just about fast times; the 200m is a complete race, with the bend and the stagger. That gives me the excitement.
“In Berlin, the 100m dash will set the tone because whoever wins will strike a psychological blow for the 200m. If I’m not victorious in Berlin, I’ll be upset, simple as that, because I’ve been working really hard and my training and my attitude have been so much better.”
The world is ready for two electric nights in Berlin next month. “It’s possible both world records will be broken,” Gay said again. “I’m pretty sure he’s preparing to do that.”
No theatrical impresario could have set the stage more perfectly for a meeting of the dual world and Olympic champions or created two more contrasting central characters. Gay the quiet Kentuckian versus Bolt the flamboyant Jamaican, a pair united by mutual respect and, seemingly, their desire to drag the tainted sport of athletics into a new drug-free era. Gay has willingly been recruited to the US Anti-Doping Agency’s Project Clean, which includes extensive testing and blood profiling. Bolt’s claims to be clean are given credence by his physique and the freakish nature of his talent. Nobody of 6ft 5in has ever presumed to become a sprinter before.
The two men travel to London this week for the Aviva London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace, where they will meet only in the 100m relay. Bolt will run the 100m on Friday evening, Gay the 200m on Saturday. It is a matter of scheduling rather than sidestepping, Gay said last week. “I’m aiming to go 19.5 or faster [for the 200m]. If I do that, I’m pretty sure Usain will take it into consideration.” Gay, who ran an astonishing 9.77sec in Rome recently, has already set down his marker for the event he still delightfully refers to as “the 100-metre dash”.
A full house at Crystal Palace will see the two fly-pasts, but the world championships in Berlin next month will be the backdrop for the real contest as Gay defends the two titles he won in Osaka two years ago against the one man he has yet fully to engage. The balance of power is different from a year ago. Gay was about to pull out of the London Grand Prix with a hamstring injury but he was still considered the favourite to win gold in Beijing. Bolt had just been beaten by Asafa Powell in Stockholm.
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A month later, Bolt ran 9.69sec doing cartwheels in the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Gay, still hampered by injury, failed even to qualify for the Olympic final. Partly out of curiosity, partly as motivation, Gay watched the final live, leaving that night, like everyone else, with a sense of awe. Gay, it should be remembered, once ran 9.68 in the US trials, a time annulled because of the strength of the wind.
Last week, Gay was both generous in his assessment of Bolt’s talent and realistic about his own chances of retaining his titles. It did not sound like kidology. “I believe Usain’s the fastest man right now,” he said. “He’s the favourite and that’s good. He’s the Olympic champion and I’m having to prove myself again.
“This guy’s a beast. You can’t be sure of what he can do, and the pressure doesn’t seem to be getting to him. He’s having fun and he’s fearless. But I’ve just got to run my race and try not to focus too much on him. I feel like I can handle the pressure because I’ve won world titles, so I can do it again.
“The pressure’s not begun to build up yet. I’ve not had a lot of media attention, which is right because I haven’t done anything since 2007 that deserves any attention. But we’re very different characters anyway, with different styles. He loves the camera. What I do may be boring to some people but that’s the way I do things.”
Gay, though, did not attempt to underestimate the hypnotic effect that Bolt has exerted on the world of sprinting and his own psyche. No sooner had the 100m world record been posted in Beijing than Gay was mentally lifting himself to run sub- 9.7sec. Where the mind goes, he says, the body will follow. “When I saw Usain run 9.69, I knew I had to train my mind and body to go where no man had gone before. His mindset is on 9.5 — and not many people think like that. But I’ve got to do the same. It’s going to take time. I’ve got to practise being mentally strong.
“Can we go under 9.6 or 9.5 in Berlin? Usain certainly believes he can run that fast, and believing it comes first and foremost. Both world records [for 100m and 200m] could be broken if the track is fast and the wind favourable in Berlin. With Usain Bolt you
never know what’s in store.”
Gay has had to be patient in his own build-up to fitness and competitiveness. After his early exit from the Olympics, he returned to training to mend his hamstring as well as his confidence, emerging to run the third- fastest 200m in history — after Bolt and Michael Johnson — in New York in May and to stir a few memories with that 9.77sec in Rome.
Bolt’s response — a 9.79 in Paris last week — only confirmed the wellbeing of both men in the weeks before Berlin. For Gay, this weekend in London is a chance to make his presence felt once again, like a boxer entering the ring, and to hone his technique at 200m, the distance he truly regards as his own.
“It was always the plan to run the 200m in London,” he said. “I did 100m in the US trials and so needed to do 200m here. I do regard it as my event because I can have so much fun doing it. The 100m dash is just about fast times; the 200m is a complete race, with the bend and the stagger. That gives me the excitement.
“In Berlin, the 100m dash will set the tone because whoever wins will strike a psychological blow for the 200m. If I’m not victorious in Berlin, I’ll be upset, simple as that, because I’ve been working really hard and my training and my attitude have been so much better.”
The world is ready for two electric nights in Berlin next month. “It’s possible both world records will be broken,” Gay said again. “I’m pretty sure he’s preparing to do that.”
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
Seeing the light: American sprinter Tyson Gay, the pace-setter this year, knows he needs a new focus if he is to beat Usaine Bolt Photo: AFP 
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