Kentucky's Own Tyson Gay Breaks 100m American Record with a 9.71

BERLIN - Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay put on a remarkable display of speed and power in the men's 100m final Sunday evening at the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics at the 1936 Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany.

In the most anticipated event at these Championships, Bolt, the reigning Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m from Jamaica, grabbed the lead early in the race and held it throughout before crossing the finishing line first and lowering his own world record from 9.69 seconds to a hard to imagine 9.58.

Gay (Clermont, Fla.), whose reaction time was slightly better than Bolt's (0.144 to 0.146) shattered his American record when he crossed the finish line in 9.71 seconds. Gay's previous AR was set at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Eugene when he finished in 9.77 seconds.

Former Jamaican world record holder Asafa Powell finished third in a season's best 9.84, with 2008 Olympic Games finalist Darvis "Doc" Patton (Grand Prairie, Tex.) finishing eighth, as he did at the Beijing Olympics, in 10.34.

2009 USA Indoor and Outdoor champion Michael Rodgers (Round Rock, Tex.) bowed out of the 100m competition this evening after the first semifinal when he finished fifth in 10.04 seconds. 2009 USA Outdoor Championships third-place finisher Monzavous "Rae" Edwards (Kansas City, Ks.) finished sixth in the second semi in 10.14, and did not advance. 

 

 

USATF Release

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