for a 200 metres race (2010 Josef Odložil Memorial in Prague)]] A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the Ancient Olympics. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes rely on different energy systems during the longer sprint.

In the United States and elsewhere, athletes previously ran the 220-yard dash (201.168 m) instead of the 200 m, though the distance is now obsolete. The standard adjustment used for the conversion from times recorded over 220 yards to 200 m times is to subtract 0.1 seconds, but other conversion methods exist.

The race attracts runners from other events wishing to double up and claim both titles. This feat has been achieved nine times at the Olympic Games, most recently by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2008. An Olympic double of 200 m and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson from the United States and Marie-José Pérec of France both in 1996.

The men's world record holder is Usain Bolt, who ran 19.19 s at the 2009 World Championships. The women's world record holder is Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States, who ran 21.34 s at the 1988 Summer Olympics. The reigning Olympic champions are Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown.

Because humans use the same muscles for both support and forward speed, the runners in the inside lanes are disadvantaged by centrifugal force during the bend phase. Consequently, the middle and outer lanes are preferred.

All-time fastest 200 m athletes

Only the fastest time for each athlete is listed.

Men

As of April 2010.

Women

As of April 2010.

Olympic medalists

Men

{| |- |1900 Paris | | | |- |1904 St. Louis | | | |- |1908 London | | | |- |1912 Stockholm | | | |- |1920 Antwerp | | | |- |1924 Paris | | | |- |1928 Amsterdam | | | |- |1932 Los Angeles | | | |- |1936 Berlin | | | |- |1948 London | | | |- |1952 Helsinki | | | |- |1956 Melbourne | | | |- |1960 Rome | | | |- |1964 Tokyo | | | |- |1968 Mexico City | | | |- |1972 Munich | | | |- |1976 Montreal | | | |- |1980 Moscow | | | |- |1984 Los Angeles | | | |- |1988 Seoul | | | |- |1992 Barcelona | | | |- |1996 Atlanta | | | |- |2000 Sydney | | | |- |2004 Athens | | | |- |2008 Beijing | | | |}

Women

{| |- |1948 London | | | |- |1952 Helsinki | | | |- |1956 Melbourne | | | |- |1960 Rome | | | |- |1964 Tokyo | | | |- |1968 Mexico City | | | |- |1972 Munich | | | |- |1976 Montreal | | | |- |1980 Moscow | | | |- |1984 Los Angeles | | | |- |1988 Seoul | | | |- |1992 Barcelona | | | |- |1996 Atlanta | | | |- |2000 Sydney | vacant | | |- |2004 Athens | | | |- |2008 Beijing | | | |}

World Championship medalists

Men

{| |- | 1983 Helsinki || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1987 Rome || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1991 Tokyo || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1993 Stuttgart || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1995 Gothenburg || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1997 Athens || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 1999 Seville || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2001 Edmonton || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2003 Paris || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2005 Helsinki || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2007 Osaka || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2009 Berlin || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |}

Women

{| |- |1983 Helsinki || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | ) || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1987 Rome || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1991 Tokyo || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1993 Stuttgart || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1995 Gothenburg || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1997 Athens || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |1999 Seville || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |2001 Edmonton || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |2003 Paris || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- | 2005 Helsinki || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |2007 Osaka || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |- |2009 Berlin || style="background:#F7F6A8;" | || style="background:#DCE5E5;" | || style="background:#FFDAB9;" | |}

Notes

References

Category:Events in athletics (track and field) Category:Short distance running

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Honorific-prefix	The Honourable, C.D.
Name	Usain Bolt
Honorific-suffix	OJ
Caption	Bolt at Berlin World Championships 2009
Nationality	Jamaican
Sport	Track and field
Event	100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m
Club	Racers Track Club
Birthdate	August 21, 1986
Weight

After the Olympics

The end of the 2008 athletics season saw Bolt compete in the ÅF Golden League, beginning in Weltklasse Zürich. Despite having the slowest start among his competitors in the 100 m race, he still crossed the finishing line in 9.83 s. Even though the time was slower than both his newly set world record and Asafa Powell's track record, it was still among the top-fifteen 100 m finishes by any sprinter to that date. However, it was the 100 m final, featuring Asafa Powell, that drew the most interest. Powell had moved closer to Bolt's world record after setting a new personal best of 9.72 s, reaffirming his status as Bolt's main contender. Bolt's final event of the season came three days later at the Golden League final in Brussels. This was the first 100 m race featuring both Bolt and Powell since the final in the Olympics. Both Jamaicans broke the track record, but Bolt came out on top with a time of 9.77 s, beating Powell by 0.06 s. Victory, however, did not come as smoothly as it had in Beijing. Bolt made the slowest start of the nine competitors and had to recover ground in cold conditions and against a 0.9 m/s headwind. Yet the results confirmed Jamaican dominance in the 100 m, with nine of the ten-fastest legal times in history being recorded by either Bolt or Powell.

He was selected as the IAAF Male Athlete of the year and won a Special Olympic Award for his performances. However, Bolt turned his attention to future events, suggesting that he could aim to break the 400 metres world record in 2010 as no major championships were scheduled that year.

2009 Berlin World Championships

Bolt started the season competing over 400 metres in order to improve his speed, winning two races and registering 45.54 s in Kingston, and windy conditions gave him his first sub-10 second finish of the season in the 100 m in March. In late April Bolt suffered minor leg injuries in a car crash. However, he quickly recovered following minor surgery and (after cancelling a track meet in Jamaica) he stated that he was fit to compete in the 150 metres street race at the Manchester Great City Games. Bolt won the race in 14.35 s, the fastest time ever recorded for 150 m. Despite not being at full fitness, he took the 100 and 200 m titles at the Jamaican national championships, with runs of 9.86 s and 20.25 s respectively. This meant he had qualified for both events at the 2009 World Championships. Rival Tyson Gay suggested that Bolt's 100 m record was within his grasp, but Bolt dismissed the claim and instead noted that he was more interested in Asafa Powell's return from injury. Bolt defied unfavourable conditions at the Athletissima meet in July, running 19.59 seconds into a 0.9 m/s headwind and rain, to record the fourth fastest time ever over 200 m, one hundredth off Gay's best time.

At the 2009 World Championships in August, Bolt eased through the 100 m heats, clocking the fastest ever pre-final performance of 9.89 seconds. The final was the first time Bolt and Gay had met in the season, and Bolt improved his world record with a time of 9.58 s to win his first World Championship gold medal. Gay finished with a time of 9.71 s, 0.02 s off Bolt's 9.69 s world-record run in Beijing. Taking over a tenth of a second off the previous best mark, this was the largest ever margin of improvement in the 100 m world record since the beginning of electronic timing.

Although Gay withdrew from the second race of the competition, the Jamaican once again produced world record-breaking form in the 200 metres final. He broke his own record by 0.11 seconds, finishing with a time of 19.19 seconds. He won the 200 m race by the biggest margin in World Championships history, even though the race had three other athletes running under 19.90 seconds, the greatest number ever in the event. Bolt's pace impressed even the more experienced of his competitors; third-placed Wallace Spearmon complimented his speed, and former Olympic champion Shawn Crawford said "Just coming out there...I felt like I was in a video game, that guy was moving – fast". Bolt pointed out that an important factor in his performance at the World Championships was his improved start to the races: his reaction times in the 100 m (0.146) and 200 m (0.133) were significantly faster than those he had produced in his world record runs at the Beijing Olympics. However, he, together with other members of Jamaican 4x100 m relay team, fell short of their own world record of 37.10 s set at 2008 Summer Olympics by timing 37.31 s, which is, however, a championship record and the second fastest time in history at that date.

On the last day of the Berlin Championships, the governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, presented Bolt with a 12-foot high section of the Berlin Wall in a small ceremony, saying Bolt had shown that “one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable.” The nearly three-ton segment will be delivered to Bolt's training camp in Jamaica.

Several days after Bolt broke the world records in 100 and 200 metres events, Mike Powell, the world record holder in long jump (8.95 metres set in 1991) argued that Bolt could become the first man to jump over 9 metres, the long jump event being "a perfect fit for his speed and height". At the end of the season he was selected as the IAAF World Athlete of the Year for the second year running.

2010: Diamond League and broken streak

Early on in the 2010 outdoor season, Bolt ran 19.56 seconds in the 200 m in Kingston, Jamaica for the fourth-fastest run of all-time, although he stated that he had no record breaking ambitions for the forthcoming season. He took to the international circuit May with wins in East Asia at the Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting and then a comfortable win in his 2010 IAAF Diamond League debut at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. Bolt made an attempt to break Michael Johnson's best time over the rarely competed 300 metres event at the Golden Spike meeting in Ostrava. He failed to match Johnson's ten-year-old record of 30.85 and suffered a setback in that his 30.97-second run in wet weather had left him with an Achilles tendon problem.

On his return from injury a month later, he asserted himself with a 100 m win at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne (9.82 seconds) and a victory over Asafa Powell at Meeting Areva in Paris (9.84 seconds). Despite this run of form, he suffered only the second loss of his career in a 100 m final at the DN Galan. Tyson Gay soundly defeated him with a run of 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds, and the Jamaican reflected that he had slacked off in training early in the season while Gay had been better prepared and in a better condition. This marked Bolt's first loss to Gay over 100 m, which coincidentally occurred in the same stadium where Powell had beaten Bolt for the first time two years earlier.

Personal life

Bolt expresses a love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laid-back and relaxed. Bolt's Jamaican track and field idols include Herb McKenley and former Jamaican 100 m 200 m world record holder, Don Quarrie. Michael Johnson, the former 200 m world and Olympic record holder, is also held in high esteem by Bolt. He is also a fan of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian opener Chris Gayle and Australian opener Matthew Hayden. During a charity cricket match Bolt clean bowled West Indies captain and legendary batsman Chris Gayle Gayle was complimentary of Bolt's pace and swing Bolt also whacked a six as he showed of his batting skills as well. The six came of Chris Gayle's bowling. Another bowler complimentary of Bolt's pace was former West-Indies fast-bowling great Curtly Ambrose Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is a fan of Manchester United. Bolt has also declared he is a fan of Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Following a race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice. In 2010, he also revealed his fondness of music, when he played a reggae DJ set to a crowd in Paris.

After winning the 200 m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed a sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt's chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released a series of videos including Bolt's then-world-record-setting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his world record breaking run in New York City, which was preceded by a lightning storm, the press frequently made puns on the Jamaican's name, nicknaming him "Lightning Bolt" and the "Bolt from the blue". During the Beijing 2008 100 m final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had "Beijing 100 m Gold" emblazoned across them. His athletics agent is PACE Sports Management.

In 2010, Bolt signed a lucrative publishing deal with HarperCollins for an autobiography, which was negotiated by Chris Nathaniel of NVA Management. This is scheduled for release in 2012. During a press conference in Paris on 15 July 2010, Bolt declined any comment on what would be contained within the book saying, "you can't really give away anything in your book ... should be exciting, it's my life, and I'm a cool and exciting guy".

Statistics

}}

Personal bests

See also

Men's 100 metres world record progression

Men's 200 metres world record progression

List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

Athletics in Jamaica

Jamaica at the Olympics

Awards

IAAF World Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009

Track & Field Athlete of the Year: 2008, 2009

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: 2009, 2010

BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: 2008, 2009

References

External links

Official website

Usain Bolt timeline via The Daily Telegraph

Lightning Strikes Twice - slideshow by The First Post

Asafa Powell}} |- |- Tyson Gay}} David Rudisha}} |- |- Roger Federer}} Rafael Nadal}} |- |- |- Asafa Powell}} Tyson Gay}} Tyson Gay}}

Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:Male sprinters Category:Athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Jamaican sprinters Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic athletes of Jamaica Category:Olympic gold medalists for Jamaica Category:People from Trelawny Parish Category:World record holders in athletics Category:Jamaican Christians

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Tyson Gay
Caption	Gay at Berlin WC 2009
Nationality	American
Sport	Running
Event	100 meters, 200 meters
Birthdate	August 09, 1982
Birthplace	Lexington, Kentucky
Residence	Clermont, Florida
Height
Weight
Pb	100m: 9.69 s (NR)

}} Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter. His primary events are the 100 meters and 200 meters. His personal bests establish him as the second fastest athlete in the 100 meters and the third fastest athlete in the history of the 200 meters, with times of 9.69 (which is a United States record) and 19.58 seconds respectively.

Gay has won numerous medals in major international competitions, highlighted by his gold medal sweep of the 100 m, 200 m and 4 x 100 meters relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. This made Gay the 200 m World Championships record holder and only the second sprinter to win all three events at the same World Championships, after Maurice Greene. At the 2008 US Olympic Trials Gay established the US record in the 100 m with a time of 9.77 s, and also ran the second fastest time ever recorded in the 100 m (9.68 s) which was aided by a non-legal wind of 4.1 meters per second (the allowable for official IAAF record purposes being 2.0 m/s).

At the same meet, Gay suffered a severe hamstring injury in the 200 m event. The injury persisted and this contributed to his failure to win a single medal at the Beijing Olympics. As a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, Gay is regularly tested to ensure that his system is clean of performance-enhancing drugs.

Early life

Born on August 9, 1982 in Lexington, Kentucky, Tyson Gay is the only son of Daisy Gay and Greg Mitchell. Athletic prowess was part of family life; Gay's grandmother ran for Eastern Kentucky University and his mother Daisy also competed in her youth, though she was pregnant with her first child by her early teens. Gay's older sister, Tiffany, was a keen sprinter and had a successful high school career. Tiffany and Tyson Gay, encouraged by their mother, raced at every opportunity, training hard at school and on the hills in their neighborhood. There was strong competition between the two, and Gay later said that his sister's quick reaction time inspired him to improve. he worked hard to improve and broke the Lafayette High School stadium record for the 200 meters. By his senior year he was a more composed athlete and he focused on the 100 meters, winning the state championship in the event and setting a new championship record of 10.60 s. In the 200 m he took silver with another new personal best of 21.23 s. At a 2001 track event, Gay met trainer Lance Brauman and the college coach convinced him to attend Barton County Community College. He improved upon his legal personal bests too, recording a 100 m run of 10.27 s and 20.88 s in the 200 m. He also continued to outstrip the competition, winning the 100 m at the junior-college (JUCO) meeting. Injuries upset the rest of 2003 for Gay, and his coach Brauman moved on to work as the sprint coach at the University of Arkansas. The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship in June proved far more fruitful, however, as Gay became Arkansas' first 100 m NCAA champion, setting a school record of 10.06 s. Furthermore, his efforts in the event helped the Arkansas athletic team win the NCAA Championship. A hamstring injury due to dehydration prevented Gay from competing in the 200 m final, but he did not see the trials as a missed opportunity, rather a springboard for future events: "I was really focused upon the team, had a great shot, but it was a learning experience—how to take care of my body."

In Gay's final year as an amateur athlete he started well, setting a personal best and school record of 6.55 s in the 60 m at the 2005 Championship Series. He helped the University team to another NCAA outdoor victory, setting a new personal best of 19.93 s in the 200 m qualifiers and placing third in the finals. The pair teamed up for the 4 x 100 m relay, along with Michael Grant and Omar Brown, and won with an Arkansas-record-breaking time of 38.49 s. With the NCAA Championships behind him, in June 2005 Gay decided to become a professional athlete, setting his sights on a place in the US 200 m team for the Helsinki World Championships.

Professional career

Debut season

.|right|thumb]] Upon turning professional, Gay entered the USA Outdoor Championships, where he took silver in the 200 m with 20.06 s. He was selected for the 200 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki and finished fourth, beaten by three of his compatriots (Justin Gatlin, Spearmon and John Capel). This completed the unprecedented feat of a single nation taking the top four positions at the championship event. Gay formed part of the 4 x 100 m relay team but a poor baton exchange between Mardy Scales and Leonard Scott resulted in disqualification. Later in the month, Gay briefly turned his attentions to the 100 m and scored a season's best of 10.08 s at the Rieti Grand Prix.

He ended the 2005 season on a positive note by winning the gold medal in the 200 m at the World Athletics Final, his first major championship title. His time of 19.96 s was his second fastest that year and fourth fastest of any sprinter that season. It was not only his rival sprinters that would cause future difficulties, however, as Gay's coach Brauman was indicted for various crimes relating to his time at Barton College and Arkansas University. He had helped athletes gain funds and credits that they were not entitled to.

Double event sprinter

The 2006 athletics season saw Gay rise to the top of the rankings for the first time and become a legitimate contender in the 100 m. He became the 2006 US Outdoor Champion in unfortunate circumstances: Gay originally finished second in 10.07 s with a strong headwind, but winner Gatlin was later disqualified for steroid abuse. Gay significantly improved upon his previous 200 m personal best by over two-tenths of a second at the IAAF Grand Prix in Lausanne. However, his time of 19.70 s was not enough to beat newcomer Xavier Carter who ran the second fastest time ever with 19.63 s. Improvements in the 100 m followed, as he won the Rethymno track meet and set another personal best with 9.88 s. Gay scored another sub-10 second 100 m at the Stockholm Grand Prix, finishing second to Asafa Powell with a 9.97 s, and beating Michael Johnson's British all-comers 200 m record with a 19.84 s win in London. Gay continued to improve at the 100 m, revising his personal best to 9.84 s at the Zürich Golden League meet, but it was not enough to beat Powell, who equaled his own world record of 9.77 s.

.|left|180px|thumb]]

Gay's 200 m performance at the 2006 IAAF World Athletics Final in Stuttgart was the culmination of a highly successful year. He became the World Athletics Final champion with another improved personal best of 19.68 s, making him the joint third-fastest 200 m sprinter with Namibian Frankie Fredericks. Gay was pleased that Fredericks was on site to see his best equaled: "To run that time in front of Frankie is a privilege. He's someone I admire a great deal both as an athlete and as a man." Gay also won a bronze medal in the 100 m, finishing behind Powell and Scott. However, Gay proved himself over 100 m at the 2006 IAAF World Cup, taking gold with a 9.88 s run. At the end of the season, with Gatlin banned from competition, Gay dominated the Track and Field News US 2006 list, having run six of the seven fastest 100 m, with Scott in third, and four of the top six 200 m times (behind Carter and Spearmon). Furthermore, he was the second fastest 100 m runner in the world that year, second only to world record holder Powell. Having proven himself to be adept at both 100 and 200 m, Gay reflected upon his development as a sprinter: (left) and Wallace Spearmon (right).|240px|right|thumb]]

Road to Osaka World Championships

With Brauman still serving his sentence, Gay began working with a new coach – Olympic gold medalist Jon Drummond. Drummond was renowned for being quick off the mark, and Gay hoped that he could help improve his starting times. His performances backed up his remarks, as he started the 2007 outdoor season with two wind-assisted runs of 9.79 s and 9.76 s. The latter time was recorded with a wind only 0.2 m/s over the allowed limit, and was superior to Powell's record of 9.77 s.

At the US National Championships he equaled his 100 m best of 9.84 s while running into the wind. This was a meeting record and the second fastest 100 m time with a headwind after Maurice Greene's 9.82 s run. He followed this with a new 200 m personal best in the finals, again facing an impeding wind. His time of 19.62 s was the second fastest ever; only Johnson's 19.32 s run at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was faster. Gay was happy with the achievement but noted that the competition was still strong: "I wasn't thinking about any time. I was trying to get away from Spearmon as fast as I could.". After noting that he was feeling worn out, Gay had a brief recuperation period in preparation for the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. He returned to the track in Europe and, while weather conditions were poor, he won the 200 m in Lausanne with 19.78 s and had wins at 100 m events in Sheffield and London. He relished the opportunity to face Powell at the World Championships: both sprinters were undefeated that year and Gay said that he felt ready for the challenge.

Facing each other for the first time that year, the IAAF described the 100 m final in Osaka as "the season’s most eagerly-anticipated battle". Gay won with a time of 9.85 s, sprinting ahead of Derrick Atkins and third-placed Powell to become the new 100 m world champion. Although this was the American's first major 100 m title, he remained respectful of Powell:

Gay doubled his gold medal count in the 200 m event. He ran a new championship record time of 19.76 s to win a second gold medal, beating Usain Bolt and Spearmon to the post. Bolt was clear to point out that he lost to the better athlete: "I got beaten by the No. 1 man in the world. For the moment, he is unbeatable.". Only Maurice Greene and Gatlin had won the sprint double at the Championships before, but Gay eyed a third gold in the 4 x 100 meters relay. The Americans faced stiff competition from the Jamaican team, which included Powell and Bolt. The Jamaicans set a national record, but it was not enough to beat the United States team, who finished in a world-leading time of 37.78 s. Gay won his third gold medal alongside Darvis Patton, Spearmon and Leroy Dixon. The triple-gold haul repeated the feat achieved by Maurice Greene at the 1999 Seville World Championships and Carl Lewis in 1983 and 1987.

Although Gay had been bullish in victory on the track, the achievement did not change him—he remained humble and appreciative to his rivals. In November he was chosen as the IAAF Male World Athlete of the Year for 2007 and in his acceptance speech he paid tribute to his peers, encouraging Powell to remain focused and saying that he highly regarded the Jamaican. He also dismissed comparisons to his forebears, commenting: "I honestly believe that I need to have the World record like some of the other great sprinters like Carl Lewis, Maurice Greene. I think that sets you apart, having medals and having the World record." At the end of the season Gay was elected 2007 Men's Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News (topping the year's list as the fastest 100 m and 200 m sprinter), and he won the USATF's Harrison Dillard award as the top US male sprinter.

2008 Beijing Olympics

Following Brauman's release from prison, Gay set out preparing for the Beijing Olympics, training with both Brauman and Jon Drummond in the off-season. Returning to competition in May, he continued as he had left off in 2007: winning the 200 m in Kingston, taking gold in both sprints at the Adidas Track Classic, and finishing second in the 100 m at the Reebok Grand Prix with a 9.85 s run. However, Gay now faced a new, emerging challenger in Usain Bolt; at the latter event Bolt had beaten Gay with a world-record-setting 9.72 s. Taking this into consideration, he realized that a world record time would be needed to beat both Bolt and Powell at the Olympics; Gay aimed to run below 9.70 s. With athletes running such quick times, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) sought to counter claims of performance-enhancing drugs use through "Project Believe", a regular, extensive drugs testing program. The BALCO scandal and the banning of high profile athletes, including Gatlin and Marion Jones, had damaged the public's perception of sprinting and the USADA recruited Gay to prove clean athletes could be just as successful.

, Usain Bolt and Churandy Martina.|300px|left|thumb]]

The favorite for qualification in both the 100 m and 200 m at the US Olympic Trials, Gay put in a strong performance in the heats. After a misjudgement in the first round almost caused him to miss out on qualification, Gay resolved to step up his pace, and he won the 100 m quarter-final with a US record-setting run of 9.77 s. Breaking Maurice Greene's nine-year-old record, this made Gay the third fastest 100 m sprinter ever, after rivals Bolt and Powell. In the final the following day, Gay finished first in a wind-aided 9.68 s (+4.1 m/s). This was the fastest ever 100 m time under any conditions, bettering the 9.69 s record which Obadele Thompson had set 12 years earlier. The 200 m event was a significant set back for Gay as he suffered a hamstring injury in the qualifiers and was subsequently ruled out of the event for the Olympics. The injury persisted for several weeks and he dropped out of track meetings in order to recover in time for the Olympics.

Gay made his track return in Beijing but his injury had reduced his 100 m medal chances and Bolt and Powell were more favored to win the event. The much anticipated Gay, Bolt and Powell final never materialised, however, as Gay failed to qualify in the semi-finals. Finishing fifth after recording 10.05 s, Gay denied that he was still injured, but claimed the hamstring problem had upset his training schedule.

Further disappointment followed as the American 4 x 100 m relay team, with Gay as anchor, failed to qualify for the final. Darvis Patton and Gay failed to pass on the baton in the heat. Gay personally took responsibility for the dropped baton but Patton denied this was true, saying "That's Tyson Gay. He's a humble guy, but I know it's my job to get the guy the baton and I didn't do that." After stating his desire to win four Olympic gold medals earlier in the year, Gay finished the 2008 Olympics without a single medal. Having failed to reach the finals of the 100 m sprint or relay, he reflected upon his failure to make the podium in Beijing: "[I felt the baton] then I went to grab it and there was nothing. It's kind of the way it's been happening to me this Olympics."

Gay rounded off the season in Europe, winning in the 200 m at Gateshead, but he had to withdraw from a ÅF Golden League race against Bolt and Powell due to his hamstring injury.

World silver and US record

Gay returned to competition after the indoor athletics season, recording a new 400 m personal best of 45.57 seconds in May. In his first 200 m outing of the season at the Reebok Grand Prix, he set a personal best and meet record of 19.58 seconds. This was the third fastest 200 m run ever, after Bolt and Johnson's world record-setting times. Record holder Bolt dismissed the challenge, saying that it would be difficult for Gay as "he is more of a 200 m runner". At the Golden Gala in July, Gay beat Asafa Powell's 9.88 season's best with a 9.77 second run, equaling his own US record. This improved upon Bolt's previous world leading time of 9.86 seconds.

The first event at the 2009 World Championships in August was the 100 m. After two sub-10 clockings in the preliminary rounds, Gay reached the final, along with Jamaicans Bolt and Powell. He ran a new US record of 9.71 seconds in the race, the third-fastest time in history, but even so had to settle for second place, losing his 100 m world title to Bolt, who knocked 0.11 seconds off the world record with a run of 9.58 seconds.

At the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix, on 20 September 2009, Gay ran the second-fastest men's 100 m on record, winning in 9.69 seconds, matching Usain Bolt's winning time at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. After beating Powell for the sixth time in Daegu, Gay stated that he would reconsider his plans for groin surgery in the off-season as it was mainly a case of resolving discomfort when running, rather than a more serious injury.

2010: First Diamond League

At the start of the 2010 outdoor season, Gay ran a new 400 m best time of 44.89 seconds. This run, which improved upon his previous record by nearly seven tenths of a second, made him the first sprinter ever to run under the significant time barriers in the three sprints – under ten seconds for the 100 m, twenty seconds for the 200 m, and 45 seconds for the 400 m.

At the Great City Games in Manchester, England in May, he set his sights on breaking Tommie Smith's 44-year-old world best mark over a 200 m straight. He beat Smith's time of 19.5 by finishing in 19.41 seconds – including a first 100 m of 9.88 and a first 150 m of 14.41 seconds. He suffered from hamstring difficulty after the run but returned to compete at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon in July – his first meeting of the 2010 IAAF Diamond League. Running over 200 m, he finished in 19.76 seconds but was beaten to the line by Walter Dix, who returned from a year-long hiatus. A week later he attended the British Grand Prix and, in spite of poor conditions, he gained a victory over his rival Asafa Powell with a 9.93-second run. He set a meet record of 19.72 seconds at the Herculis meeting in Monaco later that month, but expressed disappointment with his race execution as Yohan Blake came close to overhauling him at the finish.

The 100 m at the DN Galan meeting in Stockholm saw Gay's first match-up of the year against Bolt. He surprised the Olympic and World champion with a resounding victory, beating him with 9.84 to Bolt's 9.97 seconds. This was only the second time Bolt had lost a 100 m final – the first occurring in July 2008 against Powell (also at Stockholm Olympic Stadium). Gay broke Powell's stadium record and earned a one carat diamond for the feat. Gay chose not to overstate the significance of the win, acknowledging that Bolt was far from peak fitness: "It feels great to beat Usain but deep down inside I know he is not 100%. I look forward to beating him when he is". With Bolt and Powell both out with injuries, Gay won unchallenged at the London Grand Prix the following week, running a world leading time of 9.78 seconds despite poor weather. A victory at the Memorial van Damme in 9.79 seconds earned him the first Diamond Race Trophy for the 100 m.

Personal life

Gay has a daughter with Shoshana Boyd, Trinity, who was born around 2001, While Brauman was in prison for fraud, Gay looked after the coach's wife and daughter. and when he returns home he still attends the church services. His beliefs matter to him both on and off the track: "I'm a religious man, so I really believe in my God-given ability, that I can do the unexpected. I really do believe I can break a record, or come close to it, or win a medal."

Gay has sponsorship deals with Adidas, Omega SA, McDonald's and Sega.

Achievements

Gay holds the US record in the 100 m with 9.69 s, making him the second fastest sprinter in the history of the event after Usain Bolt. In 2010 Gay was a member of the fifth-fastest 4 x 100 m relay team in history, running a 37.45 s with teammates Trell Kimmons, Wallace Spearmon and Michael Rodgers in Weltklasse Zürich 2010. His sprint combination of 100 m and 200 m in 9.84 s and 19.62 s, run over two days in 2007, was the best ever combo at that time. His current best combo of 9.69 s/19.58 s is second only to Bolt's 9.58 s/19.19 s. During the Tom Jones Memorial Classic in Gainesville on April 17, 2010 Tyson Gay clocked 44.89 in the 400 m event and became the first man in history to dip under 10.00 in the 100 m, under 20.00 in the 200 m and under 45.00 in the 400 m. Tyson gay remains the only sprinter to have beaten Usain Bolt in a final since Bolt's world record runs at the 2008 Olympics.

Personal bests

Competition record

References

External links

Tyson Gay's official website

USATF profile for Tyson Gay

"Tyson Gay", n°10 on Time’s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"

Asafa Powell|after= Usain Bolt|years=2007}} Asafa Powell|after= Usain Bolt|years=2007}} Xavier Carter|title=Men's season's best performance, 200 meters|years=2007|after= Usain Bolt}} Usain Bolt|title=Men's season's best performance, 100 meters|years=2010(tied with Nesta Carter)|after=}}

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:American sprinters Category:People from Lexington, Kentucky Category:Arkansas Razorbacks track and field athletes Category:Athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Category:African American track and field athletes Category:Sportspeople from Kentucky Category:Baptists from the United States Category:American Christians