CHINA: OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008 - U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay vows to fight on after Olympics disappointment

Record ID: 276950

  • Title: CHINA: OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008 - U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay vows to fight on after Olympics disappointment
  • Date: 24th August 2008
  • Summary: (BN10) BEIJING, CHINA (AUGUST 23, 2008) (REUTERS) AMERICIAN SPRINTER TYSON GAY WALKING ON STAGE FOR PROMOTIONAL EVENT FOLLOWED BY RUSSIAN POLE VAULT OLYMPICS GOLD MEDALLIST YELENA ISINBAYEVA GAY ON STAGE WITH OTHER ATHLETES
  • Embargoed: 8th September 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAEOQ40ES60EF5LLGZIO75ZTYSZ
  • Story Text: U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay vows to stage a comeback after disappointing performance in the Beijing Olympics.
    America's top ranked sprinter Tyson Gay has vowed to fight on after a miserable performance at the Beijing Olympics with his sights firmly set on competing at the 2012 London Games.
    The blue riband event at the Olympics, the men's 100 metres, was expected to be a three-way race between Gay, the men's 100 and 200 metres world champion, and Jamaica's Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.
    But Gay went out of the 100 metres in the semi-finals, recovering from a hamstring injury suffered at the U.S. Olympic trials last month, then a botched relay, in which he failed to connect with team mate Darvis Patton, added further frustration.
    Gay said he will continue to train hard and fight on for a comeback.
    "I think I am going to train, well run a couple more meets in Europe, just to try to end my season on a good note, you know, see what my times are. And then, after that, I think I am going to take six weeks off to seven weeks and then get back into my final training," he said.
    "Honestly, I think everything happens for a reason and I do believe my injuries to my hamstring, you know, I had to miss a lot of training because of that. But it's healthy now and I came and gave it my best in the Games, but I really believe it was a bad timing when I got hurt," he added.
    Gay said his bad experience at Beijing would not deter him and was looking forward to better fitness in the future. He said he was only 26 years old now so would only be 29 or 30 when the London Games came around.
    "I'm not really looking forward to changing my training. I just look forward to staying healthy and I really believe the time is going to come once I stay healthy and prove my fitness," he said.
    He added he believed the new 100 metre record set by Jamaica's Usain Bolt of 9.69 seconds was beatable.
    "Yes, I really believe it is beatable. I don't know if it is going to be me or someone else, but I think a lot of people was adapting I think 9.7 or 9.6 will be a number that everyone will be running," he said.
    He admitted the U.S. team had not done well on the track this Olympics, with Jamaica clearing the board for sprinting, although the US women later won the 4x400 relay.
    "I don't really know, I can't really, I think it was a little bit of bad luck. I think the U.S. is one of the only countries who have as much pressure as they have on ourselves to perform. And now, I think Jamaica's on top, and I think people will be looking for them to perform, and I think they may be under pressure naturally to have some of the same performances. But this has a little bit to do with pressure, and a little bit to do with it's just Jamaica's time to be on top," he said.
    But although he was disappointed with his performance at Beijing, he said he had enjoyed being at the Olympics and mixing with other athletes from all over the world.
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