EUGENE, Oregon, (Reuters) – Soft-spoken and humble, American Tyson Gay seems so different from most modern-day sprinters.
He seldom raises his voice, rarely if ever makes bold predictions and generally keeps a low profile outside his passion for social media.
Yet, like the Thoroughbred horses that graze near his Lexington, Kentucky hometown, he can sprint.
No American has ever run faster. Not nine-times Olympic champion Carl Lewis, not Maurice Greene, the last American to hold the 100 metres world record.
Only Jamaican Usain Bolt stands between current Florida resident Gay and the cherished title of World’s Fastest Man.
Still, until he was 14 by his estimation, the likeable American could not outrun his older sister.
Now, as the London Games approach, Gay’s name is linked with Bolt, Jamaican world champion Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and American Justin Gatlin as the men to watch in the Olympic 100 metres final on Aug. 5. What transpired in the intervening years is a story of speed, a seemingly never-ending string of injuries and the will to succeed no matter how painful the setback.
Thumb through story after story about the U.S. record holder and one wonders why the slender runner did not put away his spikes long ago.
‘KEEP FIGHTING’
Back problems, groin injuries, a strained hamstring and most recently a hip injury that required surgery and kept him out of competition for nearly a year have been roadblocks to the former U.S. collegiate champion’s success.
“I am really mentally strong,” Gay told Reuters. “And I keep on fighting.”
The determination amazes his agent, Mark Wetmore.
“He is mentally able to push his body beyond where a lot of people have told me he should,” Wetmore said.
Gay appeared destined in 2007 to be the world’s next great sprinter, winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres and 4×100 metres relay at the Osaka world championships.
But in Jamaica an extremely tall speedster many thought would become a top-notch 400 metres runner was winning a bet with his coach that allowed him to try the 100 metres.
Sprinting would never be the same.
Bolt, already a world junior champion in the 200 metres, swept away world records in both the 100 and 200 with dazzling performances in the 2008 Olympics and 2009 world championships, leaving Gay an afterthought in the public’s eye.
“It was like I didn’t even exist until I beat the world record holder,” Gay said after defeating Bolt for the first time in the 100 metres at a 2010 Diamond League meeting in Stockholm.
