{"id":999,"date":"2012-03-31T08:30:20","date_gmt":"2012-03-31T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=999"},"modified":"2012-03-31T08:30:20","modified_gmt":"2012-03-31T15:30:20","slug":"no-deuce-for-tyson-gay-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=999","title":{"rendered":"No Deuce for Tyson Gay in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the word from Tyson in an interview with ESPN<\/a>. In the interview Gay states that he\u2019s had a few nagging injuries that have slowed his preparation for the Olympic season. He said that the injury that forced him to have surgery last year is fully healed, but some muscle strains and inflammation have twice halted his training. As a result he\u2019s taking it slow and won\u2019t have the time he feels he needs to prepare for both the 100 & 200. <\/p>\n

\"Tyson\"<\/a>That\u2019s the news, so what are the implications. After all, Tyson Gay is arguably the best sprinter in the US when healthy. His resume includes the AR in the 100 (9.69) which is second all time \u2013 only Bolt\u2019s 9.58 is faster. He won double gold in Osaka in \u201807 and lead the US to it\u2019s last major victory in the 4×1 \u2013 against a Bolt\/Powell squad. He opened his 200 season in \u201809 with a sizzling 19.58 \u2013 #5 performer ever with the #9 performance. And he\u2019s the last person on the planet to beat Bolt at either distance \u2013 defeating him in the 100 in Stockholm in 2010 and taking his \u201807 200 gold over Bolt in Osaka.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s that last fact \u2013 the 200 win over Bolt in Osaka \u2013 that really points to the implications of this news. Because that Osaka race was the last time we\u2019ve seen Tyson Gay in the final of a major 200. As a matter of fact, \u201807 was the last time we saw Tyson Gay in the final of a national 200! Why? Well anyone following the sprints will remember that the following year at the Olympic Trials is where Tyson\u2019s injury woes began as he went down to injury After setting a then AR 9.77 in his quarterfinal, then burning a 9.68w in the final, Gay went down to the track in his 200 quarterfinal with a hamstring injury that, in retrospect, was much bigger in scope than anyone  would ever have imagined. An injury that has had profound effects on US sprinting for nearly four years now.<\/p>\n

Tyson was unable to recover in time to be at full strength in Beijing and bowed out of the 100 in his semi. As the defending World champion in both sprints, Tyson didn\u2019t have to compete at US Nationals in \u201809, but nagging injuries forced him to withdraw from the Berlin 200 after taking silver in the 100 (9.71) behind Bolt \u2013 after opening the season at 19.58. Following Worlds Tyson screamed his 9.69 AR in Shanghai. Nothing at stake in the off season of 2010, Tyson was undefeated in the 100 and took down Bolt in Stockholm. He showed incredible strength with a 44.89 early season 400, and a pair of 19.7 runs in the 200 during the season. Then he was fast early with a 9.79 last year, only to succumb once again to injury, this time undergoing surgery to repair his groin. <\/p>\n

So where does that leave Tyson, and the US, as we move towards the heart of the season and preparations for London? For Tyson it puts his eggs in one basket \u2013 the 100 meter basket. But then, that\u2019s really where his eggs have been for the past four years. As outlined above, his recent appearances in the deuce have been few and sporadic \u2013 a total of 10 races since 2007! Most have been of high quality including a 19.41 on a straight and his PR 19.58 opener, but he\u2019s averaged less than 3 races at the distance per year. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s obviously a talent there, as well he should be with a sprinting range of 9.69\/19.58\/44.89. Arguably he\u2019s yet to truly tap into his 200 potential. When you combine his 400 strength with the fact that he may be the best turn runner in the world \u2013 the only man capable of leading Bolt off the turn \u2013 the deuce just might be his best event. But the bright lights of the 100 meters calls strongly to sprinters \u2013 look no further than Bolt himself who was a 200 man who begged his coach to let him run the 100. There\u2019s a draw to being called the World\u2019s Fastest Man, and clearly that\u2019s where Tyson\u2019s focus has been. So, while he was double World Champion in 2007, for all intents and purposes he has been a 100 meter man since. <\/p>\n

However the stress of running the 100 takes a toll on one\u2019s body. Again look no further than Bolt, who has had his share of sprint related injuries since turning to the event. Or former World Record holder Asafa Powell who has had some sort of injury annually since 2005. And injuries finally ended the careers of Maurice Greene, Donovan Bailey, Bruny Surin, and Ato Boldon, \u2013 stars of the previous era of sprinting. Even double WR holder Michael Johnson was injury prone trying to run the 100 before moving up to the longer double. The 100 is glorious, but at a price!<\/p>\n

It may even be that the stress of the 100 is what has lead to Tyson\u2019s injuries. After all, Tyson\u2019s 100 is not the fluid relaxed movements of  the much taller Bolt, but more the all out piston drive of a Porshe engine in overdrive, or a dragster going from 0 to 60. A pedal to the metal drive that occasionally hurts a rod or two. So it will be wise for Tyson to \u201ctake it slow\u201d as he prepares for this Olympic season. He will need good health to take on what just may be the greatest Olympic 100 final in history. <\/p>\n

As for the US, a healthy Tyson Gay, who is focused on a single goal means a strong shot at the top of the podium in the 100, and the most potent third leg in the world in the 4×1. Or as Ato Boldon once put it calling the 4×1 in Zurich as Gay blasted by the competition, \u201cthat\u2019s gonna leave a mark\u201d! We need THAT kind of leg from Tyson if we are to beat the Jamaican\u2019s in London. So a healthy Tyson will give us leadership in the short sprint and added relay strength.<\/p>\n

It will also open up the deuce \u2013 but then the deuce has been open for years anyway. Luckily we have solid sprinters in Dix and Spearmon to carry that mantle. And with Spearmon running very well early this year, the loss of Tyson could become a moot point here. After all, Spearmon was The Man in the deuce prior to his own round of injuries \u2013 regularly defeating Tyson and Bolt! And he could be ready for his own renaissance. Time will tell. <\/p>\n

Of course speculation is rife this time of year and there is much news left to be heard. We still haven\u2019t seen Usain Bolt or any of several top sprinters yet this year. And it was only weeks ago that there was speculation that Bolt may be having his own health issues. Nothing is yet written in stone, and until we see anyone on the track performing, everything is up for grabs. After all, it ain\u2019t over til the fat lady sings or the sprinters cross the line!<\/p>\n

At least we now know what we can expect from Tyson Gay. He\u2019s going to be focused on the 100 \u2013 and frankly I think he has much potential there yet to be tapped. After all, his 9.69 was a come from behind affair that left much room for improvement. And who knows, Tyson may not be the only sprinter that decides to focus on a single event. The sprints are deeper than ever at the top end and winning a double will be difficult. To double unsuccessfully or to focus on a single gold? We\u2019ll see how those decisions pan out as the season progresses. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the word from Tyson in an interview with ESPN. In the interview Gay states that he\u2019s had a few nagging injuries that have slowed his preparation for the Olympic season. He said that the injury that forced him to have surgery last year is fully healed, but some muscle strains and inflammation have twice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gay"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-g7","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1000,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/999\/revisions\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}