Gay tops the highlight podium
September 5th 2007 16:47
For me Tyson Gay grabbing a 100m/200m/4x100m hat trick of gold medals is incomparable and capped a supreme performance by the entire US team.
Those from the land of the free topped the medal table with 14 Gold, 4 Silver and 8 Bronze, double the number of medals won by second placed Kenya.
Alyson Felix accounted for another 3 gold medals as she claimed the 200m,4x100m,4x400m triple and Bernard Legat claimed a 1500m/5000m double.
To cap it off Jeremy Wariner lead a 1-2-3 in the 400m as Kerron Clement and Angelo Taylor joined him on the podium.
But it was Gay that proved the Talisman, overcoming the massive pressure and the world record holder Asafa Powell in the 100m final.
The Kentucky athlete’s face turning to ecstasy as his dream became a reality; Asafa’s looking downward, bowed in defeat as he gave in to the American.
Then in the 200m another Jamaican – Usain ‘the lightning’ Bolt ran the bend of his career so far to lead the field through the transition and into the straight away.
Gay could have cracked at this point under pressure and fatigued; seven races in his legs already at these championships but just as he did in the shorter event he came through and separated himself from the competition, winning by a metre in 19.75 – a championship record.
In becoming the double champion he emulated his idol Maurice Greene who captured both short sprint titles in 1999.
The 4x100m final was spectacular. After a first leg by Darvis Patton, Wallace Spearmon tore down the back straight just behind the Jamaican team one lane outside him.
However the changeover with Gay was messy.
A surprise since they have been in the same relay team since their college days.
Gay grasped thin air at first as Spearmon struggled to place the baton in his hand.
Eventually though Gay did take the baton and proceeded to tear round the bend and past Nesta Carter running 3rd leg for Jamaica.
Again the changeover to anchor leg Leroy Dixon was shady with Dixon tripping on his exit from the pass zone but held on superbly from a reinvigorated Asafa Powell who overtook the Japanese, Brazilian and British quartets on his way to the silver medal that he surrendered in the 100m.
And Tyson Gay’s reaction to his achievements, “to get three gold medals like Maurice Greene and Carl Lewis, it really feels great.”
Master of the understatement me thinks.
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Comment by David
The finish to the women's 100m.