Tweet
Gay clocks wind-aided 9.76
Mon, 04 Jun 2007
Tyson Gay electrified the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meeting with a 9.76sec in the 100 metres on Saturday, but a favorable wind of 2.2 metres per second meant the US sprinter couldn't claim a world record.
Gay's sizzling time on the Icahn Stadium track was one hundredth of a second faster than the world record of 9.77sec shared by Jamaica's Asafa Powell and American Justin Gatlin — whose slice of the mark stands to be wiped out by a doping charge.
But the legal wind limit for a record is 2 metres per second.
It was still the second fastest 100 ever run under any conditions, topped only by the 9.69 gust aided performance by Obadele Thompson of Barbados at El Paso, Texas, in 1996.
Gay insisted he didn't mind missing out on a place in the record book — this time.
"I'm not frustrated at all," he said. "I had a bad feeling (about the wind) in the (starting blocks.) It can't always be perfect."
Gay confirmed the stellar form he showed on 20 May, when he clocked a wind aided 9.79sec to win the 100 metres at a meeting in Los Angeles. On that occasion the wind was 2.5 metres per second.
Gay, who ended 2006 ranked No. 1 in the world in the 200 metres and second in the 100 metres, owns a best non-wind-aided 100 metre time of 9.84sec.
As he did in Los Angeles, Gay finished ahead of Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas (9.83). American Shawn Crawford (9.96) was third.
China's 110 metre hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang recovered from a so-so start to win in a season best 12.92sec.
He was four hundredths outside the world record he set in Lausanne last year, but pleased with a performance that saw him make up ground to take the lead by the sixth of 10 barriers and win by half a stride.
"The first half of my race wasn't very good, but the second half I caught up and I'm very excited," said Xiang after out dueling top American rivals Terrence Trammell (12.95) and Ryan Wilson (13.02) in a race run in a wind of 1.5m/sec.
US fans were treated to an American women's pole vault record of 4.88 metres by Jenn Stuczynski, as former record holder Stacy Dragila withdrew early with an Achilles tendon injury.
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell won the women's 100 metres in 10.93sec, ahead of American Torri Edwards in 10.96 and American Allyson Felix in 11.01.
Felix's bid for a double on the track yielded one victory, as she won the 400 metres in 50.53sec.
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba won the women's 5000 metres in 14.35.67. With no one in the field pushing her, she posed no threat to the world record of 14:24.53 set by her countryman, Meseret Defar, at this meet last year.
Wallace Spearmon outclassed the men's 200 metre field in 19.82, closing past Jamaica's Usain Bolt (19.89) in the final 10 metres.
Alan Webb won the men's mile in 3:52.94, in a rare decision over naturalized countryman Bernard Lagat (3:53.88).
AFP
Mon, 04 Jun 2007
Tyson Gay electrified the Reebok Grand Prix athletics meeting with a 9.76sec in the 100 metres on Saturday, but a favorable wind of 2.2 metres per second meant the US sprinter couldn't claim a world record.
Gay's sizzling time on the Icahn Stadium track was one hundredth of a second faster than the world record of 9.77sec shared by Jamaica's Asafa Powell and American Justin Gatlin — whose slice of the mark stands to be wiped out by a doping charge.
But the legal wind limit for a record is 2 metres per second.
It was still the second fastest 100 ever run under any conditions, topped only by the 9.69 gust aided performance by Obadele Thompson of Barbados at El Paso, Texas, in 1996.
Gay insisted he didn't mind missing out on a place in the record book — this time.
"I'm not frustrated at all," he said. "I had a bad feeling (about the wind) in the (starting blocks.) It can't always be perfect."
Gay confirmed the stellar form he showed on 20 May, when he clocked a wind aided 9.79sec to win the 100 metres at a meeting in Los Angeles. On that occasion the wind was 2.5 metres per second.
Gay, who ended 2006 ranked No. 1 in the world in the 200 metres and second in the 100 metres, owns a best non-wind-aided 100 metre time of 9.84sec.
As he did in Los Angeles, Gay finished ahead of Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas (9.83). American Shawn Crawford (9.96) was third.
China's 110 metre hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang recovered from a so-so start to win in a season best 12.92sec.
He was four hundredths outside the world record he set in Lausanne last year, but pleased with a performance that saw him make up ground to take the lead by the sixth of 10 barriers and win by half a stride.
"The first half of my race wasn't very good, but the second half I caught up and I'm very excited," said Xiang after out dueling top American rivals Terrence Trammell (12.95) and Ryan Wilson (13.02) in a race run in a wind of 1.5m/sec.
US fans were treated to an American women's pole vault record of 4.88 metres by Jenn Stuczynski, as former record holder Stacy Dragila withdrew early with an Achilles tendon injury.
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell won the women's 100 metres in 10.93sec, ahead of American Torri Edwards in 10.96 and American Allyson Felix in 11.01.
Felix's bid for a double on the track yielded one victory, as she won the 400 metres in 50.53sec.
Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba won the women's 5000 metres in 14.35.67. With no one in the field pushing her, she posed no threat to the world record of 14:24.53 set by her countryman, Meseret Defar, at this meet last year.
Wallace Spearmon outclassed the men's 200 metre field in 19.82, closing past Jamaica's Usain Bolt (19.89) in the final 10 metres.
Alan Webb won the men's mile in 3:52.94, in a rare decision over naturalized countryman Bernard Lagat (3:53.88).
AFP
Comment