Gay knew how Bolt would react: "He's probably excited because I'm pretty sure he knows I'm a good curve runner so he knows it's going to benefit him as well, having great competition."
Very humble thing to say. Gay must be a great guy. Even if Bolt is the faster over 200m at least there will be a race to watch not just another blowout like Olympics.
Then again does anyone think that 19.30 is the best we'll see out of Bolt?
Runningart2004 wrote:
I know there were some whispers about the Atlanta track being illegal...but wouldn't the IAAF had to test the track anyway BEFORE the games? I mean tracks have to meet certain specifications to be "legal" anyway.
They sold it to the Braves and they ripped up the track. I'm sure someone would have kept a piece of it around somewhere for historical purposes.
Alan
it does have to be tested beforehand - in iaaf lab & then in-situ - obviously passed muster ?!
i think real problem was the base of the atlanta stadium
normally, these are some sort of asphalt & when you put the track on it, the energy-return shoud remain legal
however, it's reported the atlanta base was compacted concrete which was much harder than asphalt & when the track was laid on it, it's energy-return much higher than the standard expected track/asphalt combo
my gut is that the combo of track/base was illegal but once laid down it wouda been hugely embarassing/expensive to tear it up & replace the track
given a firm assurance that the track was going to torn up virtually the day after the games, the iaaf likely let it ago as evidence of illegality was gone & kept hush-hush on the matter
there is also the possibilty that the combo was just about legal at initial laying ( & testing ), but few weeks/months under hot atlanta sun "baking" it & the track "settling" deeper into the base under it's own weight may have made it illegal by start of games
either way, imo that track was dirty
It just goes to show you how far ahead of everyone else Usain is when someone who runs .28 sec slower than Bolt's PR is now portrayed as a major threat.
kohlberg wrote:
It just goes to show you how far ahead of everyone else Usain is when someone who runs .28 sec slower than Bolt's PR is now portrayed as a major threat.
That's the thing though, there are no performances between 19.32 and 19.58.
Bolt breaking MJ's record was a .3 or so PR for him.
MJ's 19.32 was a .34 PR from his 19.66 prelim PR.
Seems as if you can hit a 19.6x and not be fully pressed/slightly shutting it down, you can (given the right day and conditions) be down in the 19.3x range.
kohlberg wrote:
It just goes to show you how far ahead of everyone else Usain is when someone who runs .28 sec slower than Bolt's PR is now portrayed as a major threat.
Not to take away from Bolt's awesome achievement at the Olympics, but I'd argue that a 19.5 yesterday is more significant than a 19.3 a year ago, as an indicator of potential success this season. Obviously Bolt could beat 19.58 in his next race, for that matter he could beat 19.32 or 19.30, and then he'd be the one with the hottest recent time again.
What was Bolt's PR before the World Record?
Keep in mind Bolt's 19.30 was run into a 0.9 m/s headwind, Gay's 19.58 was run with a 1.3 m/s tailwind. So there was a 2.2 m/s difference in effective wind. So the difference between the capability their performances indicate is more than .28 seconds
kohlberg wrote:
It just goes to show you how far ahead of everyone else Usain is when someone who runs .28 sec slower than Bolt's PR is now portrayed as a major threat.
.......
Will Gay beat Bolt at Worlds this year- I don't know; however, one thing I do know is that Usain Bolt is not that far ahead of Tyson Gay in the 200m. Usain Bolt ran his time in August at the Olympics during the period in which he specifically peak and Tyson just ran his in his 200m season opener in May!!!! World Class sprinters don't peak this early in the season. The top ten list shows no other runner has a wind legal performance from May is even close to Tyson Gay time- if hey stays healthy 19.58 won't be his personal best later this season.
Tyson is at a new level EARLY in the season and who know what he will run with more races before the World Championships in both the 100m and 200m. Usain Bolt has a real challenge and maybe he will answer it during the World Championships- who knows but its going to be interesting!
I think Bolt's PR before his 19.30 run was a 19.67 from July '08, but don't quote me on that.
Further keep in mind that Bolt's race was at a peaking point in the season . . . Tyson JUST opened up!!!!!! First race!!! It is the fastest opener by anyone ever in the 200m!!!! Forget head winds, tail winds, and everything else. Yes, Bolt would have run faster with a tail wind, but he didn't run 19.58 his first race of the season.
Given the fact that Bolt ran that 150m in 14.x without a curve. You throw a curve into that race and add 50m, they are amazingly close.
Actually, Tyson would have run 9.6x with a legal in Beijing against Bolt further pushing Bolt to finish the race.
It is great that someone will be close to Bolt and maybe Tyson will be ahead of him at the turn, but watch out on that straight-away because Usain will exploded from 110-150m.
I am calling that Bolt can go 19.00 and Tyson can go 19.20 in Berlin given the right conditions.
We are in the best sprint era ever.
Forget Powell, he already proved that unless he is running the 100m at your grandma's B-Day against NO ONE, he will choke.
I'm glad that Gay performed as well as he did this past weekend. Now the sprints have another (friendly) rivalry, which makes it more interesting for me to watch. Hopefully it will get other people interested as well and force people to learn other track names outside of Usain Bolt.