Bolt vs Gay in London July 24-25?

A pre-Berlin showdown should happen in London for money or just a tune up.

The cat and mouse games played by Gay and Bolt may well be repeated in London at the Grand Prix on July 24 + 25 2009 as the top athletes get in gear for Berlin; specially if Bolt gets his way.

We bet Tyson Gay will run away from the competition, though not on the track, and Bolt will take the chance for some quality strides.

In stark contrast to Gay and his dissatisfaction with his 100m run in the USA trials, Bolt is positively laid back in the media and is looking to race ....

"I wouldn't mind meeting them in every race in the build-up so I know what I have to do ....."

That's a world class athlete talking .... Not only is he #1 he sounds like #1 too - no fear and true a desire for competition to key off and improve from.

So will it be Puma vs Adidas in Berlin or London... An age old battle?

At the moment the Puma clad speedster is truly the cat and the guy from America; very much the "mouse".

"....no disrespect to Tyson"

"Personally, no disrespect to Tyson but that is going to be a hard task for him."

Usain Bolt

That after running 9.86 into a negative 0.2 wind to win in Kingston against Asafa Powell.

Tyson Gay ran 9.75 in the USA and has claimed that he may be able to break Bolts world 100m record if he can get his start working better.

Bolt however thinks Gay is "more a 200m runner" and as Gay thought his run was "horrible" we wonder if Tyson Gay really can sort out his running to his own satisfaction by the World Championships in Berlin.

It's not the time to write him off just yet and Tyson (if you're reading) ... positive vocabulary will help you a bit and not help the competition .. You are getting there .. so why not say so?

"horrible" 100m quotes from Tyson Gay

Tyson Gay gives his own honest opinion of him running a "horrible" race. With this mental approach and his admitted technically horrible performance he seems to have a long way to go in getting things right for Berlin.

“Honestly I ran a horrible race. Technically I was horrible. The false start kind of threw me off."

“It felt horrible."

".......... I’m just trying to stay healthy and get ready for the world championships.”

Marcus Rowland – Winner Jr. Men’s 100M US

200ths off sub-10 and a happy young guy ...


“My first goal was to stay with Deangelo Cherry. If I could stay with him, I knew I would run a good time. I wanted to get out of the blocks smooth. I got out hard and just relaxed, and just finished strong.”

“It feels real good. To look up on that clock and see 10.02, it was a big accomplishment.”

perhaps not the fastest but #1 at 100m on the day

Michael Rogers – Winner Men’s 100M

“I didn’t get the start that I thought I was going to get. Then I got out and didn’t panic. I’d been running good all weekend. I just wanted to see where my top-end speed takes me. I just held off the field and won the race.”


“I’ve been running good all year. At the Reebok, at the Pre and I did good here at the US meet. I came here with a lot of confidence. And when I get to Berlin, I think I can medal. I just have to train hard and stay humble.”

Bolt over 150m in May 2009 on form to take on Gay over 100m to 200m

Blasting the first 100m in 9.90, in May 2009, Bolt was of course short of his 9.69 in Beijing though his 14.36 seconds smashing the previous world's best by 0.39 seconds represented a superb time.



The run was not on a real (regulation) track at all but a straight line stretch of the planet built for the purpose; in what were bad conditions.

Over "the flying 100" 50-150m split he recorded 8.72 seconds.

The best ever of 14.75, by American Tyson Gay, was recorded during a 200m race (with a bend) so any comparison is hard to make; lets just say the recent super-fast 200m from Gay does not wipe out this result as a measure of fitness for Bolt.

mens 100m results from 2009 Reebok Grand Prix

Interesting results from the A final where 0.2 of a second covered 2nd to 9th.

1 Mike Rodgers USA 9.93 3.1

2 Travis Padgett USA 9.96 3.1
3 Steve Mullings JAM 9.98 3.1
4 Darvis Patton USA 10.00 3.1
5 Richard Thompson TRI 10.01 3.1
6 Daniel Bailey ANT 10.02 3.1
7 Asafa Powell JAM 10.10 3.1
8 Michael Frater JAM 10.15 3.1
9 Nesta Carter JAM 10.16 3.1

Tyson Gay almost certain to run only 100m in June US Nationals

Despite a stunning 200m run Gay seems set to race over 100m only at the end of June if Wetmore is to be believed:

From USA Today (more at the link)

Wetmore said chances are 95% that Gay will run only the 100 at nationals. As defending champion in the 100 and 200, he gets a bye in both to the Aug. 15-23 world championships in Berlin.

Bolt under threat in 2009?

CBCSports.ca asked Bolt

Is there anyone out there who could offer you a challenge over 100m?

Bolt: I respect all my opponents — they will all be training extra hard to beat me in 2009. Asafa (Powell) and Tyson (Gay) both had injuries in 2008 and I expect them to be coming out strong in 2009.

CBCSports.ca: Do you have any plans to beat Michael Johnson's world 400-m record (43.12 seconds) and become the only man to hold world records at 100, 200 and 400 at the same time?

Bolt: I may try a 400-m race in 2010 as there is no World Championships or Olympic Games that year. A lot of people are asking me about the 400m.

Bolt & Powell in Brussels 2008 100m