Related News

Home » Sports » Athletics

Gay runs third-fastest 200

AMERICAN Tyson Gay ran the third-fastest 200 meters ever when he clocked 19.58 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on Saturday.

Gay, coming back from a hamstring injury that dashed his Beijing Olympic hopes, ran away from the field to post a time bettered only by Usain Bolt's world record 19.30 set in Beijing, and the 19.32 run by Michael Johnson at the 1996 Olympics.

It was the first 200-meter race of the year for world champion Gay, who had only run two 400 events in 2009. "I was very surprised," Gay, 26, said. "I'm very happy."

"Running a 19.5 had been one of my goals this year. To do that in my first race was very pleasing."

Wallace Spearmon was second in 19.98 followed by US compatriot Xavier Carter in 20.27 with Jeremy Wariner another three-hundredths of a second back.

Gay was running the 200 for the first time on US soil since 2008 Olympic trials, where he injured his hamstring.

The Icahn Stadium track has been to Gay's liking. In 2007 he won the 100 in a wind-aided 9.76 seconds. Last year he ran 9.85 to finish second behind Bolt, who set his first 100 world record with a time of 9.72.

Former 100 world record holder Asafa Powell did not fare as well, finishing seventh in the 100 behind American winner Mike Rodgers, who clocked 9.93 seconds. Jamaica's Powell ran 10.10. Olympic silver medalist Richard Thompson of Trinidad finished fifth in 10.01.

Jamaican Olympic and world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown was upstaged in the women's 100 by Carmelita Jeter, who won in a wind-aided 10.85 seconds.

US compatriot Muna Lee was second in 10.88 followed by Campbell-Brown in 10.91.

The meet produced numerous year-best times as athletes gear up for this summer's world championships in Berlin.

American Lauryn Williams won the 200 in a 2009 best 22.34 seconds, ahead of compatriot Shalonda Solomon and Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas.

Other stellar women's performances included Allyson Felix's 50.50 in the 400, Kenyan Linet Masai taking the 5,000 in 14:35.39 and Jenn Stuczynski's 4.81 meters in the pole vault.

Micah Kogo of Kenya won the men's 5,000 in 13:02.90 ahead of double world champion Bernard Lagat and Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend