By Jack Pfeifer EUGENE, Ore. – The last event of the opening three-day weekend of the Olympic Trials was the men’s 100-meter final, viewed live on national television Sunday night and in person by a hushed crowd at jam-packed Hayward Field. It was worth the wait.
Tyson Gay, although last year’s world champion, had his reputation tarnished last month in New York when Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record, running 9.72, and in the process defeated Gay.
Gay’s answer here? He runs a faster time – 9.68, the fastest 100 ever run – and while the recordkeepers care that the trailing wind was “illegal” – 4.1 meters per second, or about 9 mph, twice the allowable limit – it was a powerful statement a little more than a month before the Beijing Olympics.
“Getting a gold medal is my biggest motivation,” Gay said, “and I want to save the best for last. My expectations are huge going into the Olympics.”
Gay, running on another warm afternoon on the University of Oregon campus, got out fast and was never threatened, though he faced a powerhouse field. “I just tried to stay relaxed and run through the finish line,” he said.
Not far back were Walter Dix (9.80), Darvis Patton (9.84) and Travis Padgett (9.85). Dix and Patton, of course, also make the team, and Padgett becomes the primary additional member of the U.S. 4x1 team, which will face an equally formidable Jamaican team.
“It all happened so quick,” said Dix, who helped Florida State to the NCAA team championship a few weeks ago. “When you are running, you can’t tell anything. I just ran to win and all I could think of when I saw the time was, ‘That’s pretty fast.’”
Gay, Patton and Dix are all expected to return later in the week to contest the 200, along with 200 specialists such as Wallace Spearmon and Xavier Carter.
Finals were also contested Sunday in the men’s long jump and pole vault, the women’s triple jump and discus, and both intermediate hurdles.
The hurdles were won by Bershawn Jackson (48.17) and Tiffany Ross-Williams (54.03). In the women’s race, Lashinda Demus was passed in the final few meters and finished 4th (54.76). Queen Harrison, 2nd in 54.60, had to leap a fallen competitor during the last stages of the race.
Trevell Quinley jumped 27-5 ¼ on his final jump to win the men’s long jump. Shani Marks won the women’s TJ in 47-2 ¼.
Qualifying was also held in the men’s and women’s 400s.
In the women’s, Natasha Hastings, former A. Philip Randolph and University of South Carolina star, won Heat II in 51.51, just ahead of Penn State’s Shana Cox (3rd in 51.69). “I felt very good about my race,” Hastings said. “My last races have been shaky so we all made some adjustments the last couple weeks in my training. I am really out here kind of testing things ... The way I felt today, I am very confident going into the semifinals.” The semis will be held Monday evening.
Nonqualifiers included New Yorker Dominque Blake of Ohio State (53.90) and New Jerseyan Jenna Griffin of Ohio State (53.20).
In the men’s 400, Columbia graduate Erison Hurtault ran well behind Jeremy Wariner to finish 2nd in Heat II and advance to the semis. Wariner ran 46.04, Hurtault 46.25. “I’m looking forward to coming out and making the final,” said Wariner, the reigning Olympic champion. “I felt pretty good today.”
O. J. Hogans, the former Seton Hall star, advanced on time, running 46.36, while Arman Dixon of Sacred Heart and Beacon HS in New York failed to advance, running 46.70.