The world champion Tyson Gay believes he can challenge Usain Bolt's 100metre world record - running the distance in a wind-assisted 9.75secs to prove his form. In a race the American sprint double world champion called "horrible", Gay recorded the fastest time in the world this year under any conditions at the USA Track & Field National Championship on Thursday. Gay, who returned to the Eugene track having recovered from an early season knee injury, said he was far from happy with his performance.
"Honestly, I ran a horrible race, technically I was horrible," he said. "The false start kind of threw me off. When I got out of the blocks it felt sloppy. I held on to the field until about 60 metres. "Then I was able to pull away through the finish line." Gay may have been less than impressed by his race, but his time in Eugene is the seventh fastest 100m run under any conditions. It is a time beaten twice by the Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt ,who holds the world record of 9.69secs.
Gay did, however, say the run had been useful. "I knew it was wind aided, so it wasn't going to get in the books," he said. "At the same time I got to know that I am able to turn over that fast. I'll be able to do that when I execute." Gay clocked a time one-hundredth of a second faster than Bolt's world record, with a wind-assisted 9.68secs at last year's US Olympic trials. Without the wind on his side, his best is his American record of 9.77secs.
The pair are unlikely to face each other until August's World Championships, where both are scheduled to run the 100 and 200 metres. "I'm looking forward to a fast race," Gay said of the highly anticipated Berlin showdown. "I ran a wind-aided 9.7. He ran a wind-aided 9.7. We are both showing great fitness. "I have the mechanics. I have the coach ... it's there." @Email:sports@thenational.ae
