Asafa 3nd 9.96s....Gay 1st 10.85s

[Exile]

Well.

[Exile]

Gay Wins First 100 Meters World Title at Osaka Championships

By Dan Baynes
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay beat world record-holder Asafa Powell in their first meeting this year to win the 100 meters at the world track and championships in Osaka today.
The 25-year-old Gay, the fastest man over the distance in 2007, won in 9.85 seconds on a track he described yesterday as the best he'd seen. Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas was second in 9.91 and Jamaica's Powell was third in 9.96.
Kentucky-born Gay follows fellow Americans Carl Lewis, Maurice Greene and Justin Gatlin as 100-meter champions in the 24-year-old world championships. U.S. sprinters have won eight of the 11 titles, with Lewis and Greene each claiming three straight gold medals.
Gay, whose coach Lance Brauman is serving a prison sentence in Texas for fraud, entered the Osaka event having run a season- leading 9.84 seconds at the U.S. Championships in June.
Powell, 24, again missed out on a first major championship gold medal after getting disqualified for a false start at the 2003 world championships and finishing fifth in the Athens Olympics final three years ago. He skipped the 2005 world championships because of an injury.
Over the past two seasons, Powell ran three of the four fastest 100 meters of all time, setting the world mark of 9.77 seconds and tying it twice.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Osaka at dbaynes@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: August 26, 2007 09:29 EDT

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`Tightened Up'
``I tightened up in the last 40 meters,'' Powell told reporters. ``I didn't relax and that cost me the race.''

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"I panicked. I felt him coming on," Powell said. "That slowed me down ... I made a big mistake."
Gay, unbeaten this year coming into the championships, lost a little composure Sunday morning. "I was wondering, 'will people still respect me if I lose?"' he said. "I was wondering if anyone would still love me."
A long distance call from his coach Lance Brauman, who is nearing the end of a prison sentence for embezzlement, theft and mail fraud, helped calm the nerves.
"This morning he called me around 11. He told me basically that he knows in the morning when he gets up that I'll be world champion," Gay said.
Some reassuring words from his mother, Daisy Gay Lowe, also worked.
"She talked to me and made me a believer. That's something I wasn't doing," he said.
Under a full moon at Nagai Stadium, and watched by Japanese Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko and some 40,000 fans, Gay pumped his arms, beat his chest and shouted in delight that finally ended weeks of nervous preparations.
The American, regularly slower out of the blocks than Powell, had feared an initial false start, something which would put him even more on edge. But all went off after the starter's gun, and head wobbling side to side, Gay had hit his groove.
Once he goes, there is no stopping Gay. It is why he now is an overwhelming favorite to win the 200 too. And with a bit of luck, he could add a title in the 400 relays too, where another battle with Powell looms.
"I'm just going to try to ice, get a massage, spend a little time with my family and really focus on the 200 now," he said. The 200 heats are set for Tuesday.
Both Gay and Powell were desperate to win their first global title Sunday, something which would surely make him favorite for next year's Olympics in Beijing.
"Next year I will get him," promised Powell. But for now, I am very disappointed."
Powell barely showed emotion on the track- a sullen demeanor that said it all. He complained his blocks stumbled at the start. More torment would follow.
While the 100 was tough to predict, nothing was easier than tipping Carolina Kluft for an unprecedented third straight heptathlon title. And the 24-year-old Swede did it with a European record, becoming the second best heptathlete of all time after Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Kluft easily stretched her five-year unbeaten streak and, with a total of 7032, she beat the 18-year old European record of Russian Nikitina Larisa by 25 points.
Immediately after setting the record, she led all competitors hand in hand around the Nagai stadium, the gesture as much the essence of Kluft as the outstanding performances.
Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska and Britain's Kelly Sotherton won the silver and bronze medals in the 7-discipline event.
In a tense shot put final, New Zealander Valerie Vili overtook defending champion Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus with her last attempt 20.54 meters. Ostapchuk, who held the lead from the opening throw, had one attempt to go but was stranded just 6 centimeters short. Olympic silver medalist Nadine Kleinert of Germany took bronze with 19.77.
Misery came just as late to Bershawn Jackson, the defending champion in the 400 hurdles. The American was leading the way in his semifinal, but stumbled on the last obstacle, totally lost his momentum and let two rivals pass. That result ruled him out of Tuesday's final. Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic led the way.
In the women's 100 second-round heats, Veronica Campbell cruised into the semifinals with a time of 11.08, hardly breaking a sweat in temperatures which soared into the 30s (high 80s) late in the evening.
Her main rival for the title, U.S. champion Torri Edwards, won her heat in 11.13, easing up at the finish. "I feel confident I can take this thing, the track is fast," she said. "It's hot, but sprinters like the hot weather." Defending champion Lauryn Williams was second in her heat, advancing in 11.16.

[Karl]

Well.

We can watch that 100M race and all other events over and over here -


http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/results/by...ate=08-26-2007