by Larry Eder
“Shit. A lot, man.”
That’s what Tyson Gay believes it will take for him and the likes of Asafa Powell to close the gap on Justin Gatlin.
Gatlin ran away with another victory in the Diamond League running 9.75 for the 100-meter dash in Lausanne.
Tyson Gay, photo by PhotoRun.net
“Man, this guy has improved,” Gay analyzed. “He has improved his top end speed. It’s going to be tough to get him, but I just need to focus on my race. He’s polished. He’s sharp and he’s on a roll right now.”
Gay noted a slight hip issue that has been bothering him since the U.S.A. Track and FIeld Outdoor Championships. At the press conference, Gay said he took a few days off from practice to rest up and was just hoping for the field to carry him to a good time.
“No excuses. I was good in the race, but I just have to get the cobwebs out,” Gay said. “Today was
The performance was another step in the right direction for Powell’s resurgence. Powell’s start was not the best, but by the time he corrected his mistake, Gatlin was ahead 20-meters into the race.
Asafa Powell, photo by PhotoRun.net
“It’s just on just on me to work my way and surpass that,” Powell said.
Powell showed a bit more optimism than Gay when asked if Gatlin is beatable.
“It’s simple. I just have to run 9.73,” Powell said. “He’s very consistent. That’s the best of him.”
For Powell now it’s a matter of staying healthy and he may be able to finally break his curse of never having medaled better than bronze at a global championship individual event. He’s been the hope of Jamaica, a nation that bleeds sprinting, for years and 2015 may finally be his year.
“I’ll be very cautious,” Powell said. “It’s coming up to the world championships. I’ll be ready.”
Powell would not be happy to hear that the American contingent of Gatlin and Gay are very excited about taking down the world record in the men’s 4×100-meter run.
“Taking myself out of the equation, we have a lot of rock stars,” Gatlin said. “Trayvon has already run 9.8. Tyson can handle the curve. If we can get someone to replace Ryan Bailey that’d be nice and then me to hold the middle down, I think we can go and threaten the world record.”
Justin Gatlin, photo by PhotoRun.net
“If we put out the right team out there and get the chemistry going, it could be close,” Gay said. “We could definitely break the American record for sure.”
