PREVIEW INTERVIEW WITH TYSON GAY BEFORE HIS 9.76w
By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tyson Gay is eager to assert himself as the next great American sprint champion and hopes to use Saturday’s Reebok Grand Prix 100 meters to prove a point.
Gay ran a wind-aided 9.79 seconds two weeks ago in Nevada and wants to fill the gap left by Justin Gatlin, who faces an arbitration hearing on doping charges.
“It’s my job to try to carry the U.S. and try to get the name back and get rid of the cloud over the sport,” Gay, 24, told reporters.
Ranked number one in the world at 200m and number two at 100m last year, Gay became the fastest 100m/200m combination sprinter ever, according to IAAF scoring tables.
“I have no records under my name. I don’t have any medals either,” he said.
"What separates a good sprinter from a great sprinter is being able to run several events, and that’s what I like to do.
“I still think I have some technical issues to work on – my reaction time off the blocks and staying relaxed through the whole 100 meter race.”
Saturday at Icahn Stadium, Gay will go against world and Olympic men’s long jump champion Dwight Phillips, and Derrick Atkins, who has the second fastest 100m time this year.
The women’s 100m features world champion Lauryn Williams, 2004 Olympic 200m silver medalist Allyson Felix and triple Olympic medalist Veronica Campbell of Jamaica, and 2003 world champion Torri Edwards.
Olympic champion and world record holder Liu Xiang of China heads the field in the 110m hurdles that also includes twice Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell.
The mile brings together Bernard Lagat and Australian Craig Mottram, while Ethiopia’s top-ranked Tirunesh Dibaba will try to surpass compatriot Meseret Defar’s world-record time of 14:24.53 run in the 5km race here last year.