GAY WAS AMAZING IN MANCHESTER

Usain Bolt recently suggested that if he is going to be beaten this would be the year for his rivals to think about doing it.
After seeing Tyson Gay run an amazing 19.41 second run over the 200-metre straight in Manchester on Sunday, it just might happen.
The time Gay ran broke the decades-old existing record set by American sprint great Tommie Smith who ran 19.5 seconds on a cinder track.
The 200-metre straight is harder to run because there is no curve to slingshot off and the runner really doesn’t know how to pace himself sprinting along the straight.
When Bolt set a new world’s best over the rarely 150 in Manchester last year, his 100m split was 9.91s. Gay’s 100-metre split yesterday was 9.88s and at 150 14.41, not far off Bolt’s 14.35s.
Gay has shown that he is not intimidated by Bolt’s amazing speed. Instead of intimidating him, Bolt’s prowess has only served to motivate Gay to try and achieve higher levels of performance.
Ultimately there might be a limit to what Gay can accomplish physically but that wont stop him from trying. On Sunday in Manchester you saw evidence that Bolt will have to be close to his very best to keep Gay at bay this year. Both sprinters are set to meet a few times in both the 100 metres and the 200 metres. Those races are already promising to be special.
At the Jamaica International Invitational on May 1, after clocking 19.56s to win the 200 metre run – the fourth fastest time ever – Bolt said he had no interest in setting records this season. This is a season to take it easy, he said. Next year the World Championships come up in Daegu South Korea and those games are followed by the Olympics in London in 2012. Those events are where Bolt has his focus for the time being.
I would suggest that he not look too far ahead as even though he has no plans to break records this year, he just might find that he has to if he is to remain unbeaten.