Bolt gears up for Gay clash
Aug. 5: Asafa Powell’s injury may have delayed the race of the season but Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay said on Thursday that they still expect a fast 100 meters race at Friday’s Diamond League meet here.
The three fastest men in the world were due to face each other for the first time this year at the DN Galan, but Powell withdrew on Wednesday evening after failing to shake off a lower-back injury. “It’s sad because I think people were really looking forward to the three of us (racing). But it’s still going to be a quick time,” Bolt said.
Bolt said that in the absence of Powell, he is still wary of the threat that Gay poses. “In Jamaica a lot of people have been seeing me and saying ‘you can’t let Tyson beat you,’” Bolt said.
Powell said that he had been looking forward to facing his close rivals again. The Jamaican said that he sustained the injury three weeks ago, and is unsure when he will be able to compete again next. “Since the start of the year, this was the race that I’ve been looking out for, so I’m very disappointed because I want to go out there and run against Usain and Tyson,” Powell said.
Gay said that he had mentally prepared himself to face both of the Jamaicans in the 100 final at the ancient Olympic stadium. “It put a little dampener on it, but it’s just as big a race,” Gay said. “I know I’m going to need to run my best to even be in the camera shot.”
Olympic champion Bolt and Powell share this season’s best time of 9.82 seconds. Bolt set the current world record of 9.58 the last time the three met on the track, at the World Championships in Berlin last August.
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