Gay Runs 100 in Windy 9.68 to make US Olympic Team
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - June 30, 2008
That lopsided loss - Gay was a distant second as Bolt broke the
world record in the 100 meters - led to some serious tinkering. Gay
and his coach, former sprinter Jon Drummond, took a look at his
start, his stride, his strategy.
Seems fair to say they knew what they were doing: On Sunday, Gay
ran 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.
A blur in blue, Gay clocked 9.68 seconds to win the 100 final at
the U.S. Olympic trials, a time that will not be entered in the
books as a world record because it came with the help of a
too-strong tailwind.
Still, this is what matters to Gay and Drummond: The sprinter
qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice that
his name should be mentioned alongside those of Jamaicans Bolt and
Asafa Powell in any discussion about who could win the dash in
Beijing.
"We need to get some type of flame-retardant uniform in case he
catches on fire," said Drummond, no stranger to hyperbole. "He's
running so doggone fast."
That is definitely true.
Gay timed a legal 9.77 in a quarterfinal Saturday to break
Maurice Greene's American record of 9.79.
Back on May 31, on a stormy night in New York, Gay finished in
9.85, easing up as he watched Bolt better Powell's mark of 9.74.
"When someone comes to your country and then kicks your butt
and then breaks the world record - puts a cherry on top - that
right there can put something on your mind a little bit," Gay said
before competing in Eugene. "But after a week or so, I was able to
block it out and get back to business."
Gay and Drummond quickly realized the setback actually was a
good thing.
It forced them to really analyze Gay's running.
"We went back and said, 'OK, you ran the fastest worst race
I've ever seen anybody run,"' Drummond said. "'Technically, you
ran a horrible race."'
The major problem, essentially: Gay was bringing his feet too
high behind his back with each stride. Gay calls it
"butt-kicking," explaining that he was nearly hitting himself in
the backside with his shoes before bringing each leg forward, while
Bolt was turning his strides over more efficiently.
"The joy I have in this is he worked hard, he believed in what
we were doing," Drummond said. "He believed in me enough to come
back and let me work with him some more."
Wearing a royal blue uniform with red and white diagonal stripes
across the front, along with matching shoes, all in a tribute to
1936 Olympic star Jesse Owens, Gay dominated the competition
Sunday.
He got out of the blocks well - "awesome," Drummond called it
- and pulled out to a comfortable lead by the 40-meter mark.
This time, Gay kept pumping those legs all the way through the
finish line, extending his lead. In Saturday's opening heat, Gay
pulled way up, way too soon, and nearly was caught by the field,
before accelerating again and lunging in for fourth place.
No such close call this time.
The previous fastest 100 under any conditions was 9.69, run in
1996 by Obadele Thompson, who now is married to Marion Jones.
Gay's race came with the wind blowing at 4.1 meters per second;
anything above 2.0 is not allowed for record purposes.
"I didn't really care what the wind was," Gay said.
Walter Dix, the 2007 NCAA champion from Florida State, overtook
Darvis Patton in the final 20 meters for second place. Dix clocked
9.80 and Patton 9.84, as each of the first six finalists turned in
times under 10 seconds.
"When I looked up and saw the numbers," Dix said, "I was
like, 'Wow, that's fast."'
It sure was.
Unlike some of his predecessors in the spotlight-attracting
dash, the 25-year-old Gay is not one to brag or talk trash.
Consider him the silent, speedy type.
Asked to assess his performance Sunday, this was about the best
he could muster: "It was OK."
Drummond, an Olympic relay gold medalist in 2000, is not one to
shy away from a boast or bold prediction. So the coach was quick to note that he figures he'll find flaws
when he reviews tape of Gay's performance Sunday. Drummond kept
telling Gay that a time below 9.7 was possible, and now he wants to
set about getting his sprinter in even better form for Beijing.
"There's no perfect race. You're always going to find ways to
improve," Drummond said. "You're always going to find ways to
upgrade."