Tyson Gay runs 9.68 in 100-meter Dash But Didn't Make it to the Official Records
Last June 29, in Eugene, Oregon, Tyson Gay ran 100 meters faster than anyone ever has. 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 assist of a too-strong tailwind. Gay’s race came with the wind blowing at 4.1 meters per second. Officially, anything above 2.0 is not allowed for record purposes.
Sporting 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 last Sunday, with the help of his coach Jon Drummond.
Drummond recalls in an interview that Gay got out of the blocks well and pulled out to a comfortable lead by the 40-meter mark. “Awesome!” is what he could happily expressed. Drummond is a former American Sprinter and is an Olympic relay gold medalist in 2000.
Gay's spectacular performance last Sunday could be attributed to his lost with Usain Bolt last month. Gay was a distant second as Bolt broke the world record in the 100 meters with a 9.74 time in New York. Gay finished at 9.85. Asafa Powell was the record holder before Bolt.
Coach Drummoned analyzed the loss of Gay last month to Bolt, and told Gay the major problem in his running: Gay was bringing his feet too high behind his back with each stride. Gay calls it “butt-kicking,” explaining that he was close to hitting himself in the backside with his shoes before bringing each leg forward, while Bolt was turning his strides over more efficiently.
Last Sunday, after much consideration on his running problem, Gay kept pumping his 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.
In the quarterfinals last Saturday, Gay had a legal time 9.77 breaking Maurice Greene’s American record of 9.79. This qualified him for last Sunday's run. 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 shape for the upcoming Olympic Games in 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.”
Just a trivia: the previous fastest 100 under any conditions was 9.69, by Obadele Thompson in 1996, who now is married to Marion Jones.
