Run to Win

As predicted, there was no new world record this afternoon in Brussels. Usain Bolt did win the race in 9.77, which is still very speedy. He was 0.06 seconds ahead of Asafa Powell, who got a much better start and led over the first 50 meters.

The first American to finish was Travis Padgett in 5^th place in 10.15 seconds.

The meet was streamed live at Track Shark, which should also carry future Golden League meets. Results are available at the IAAF website.

After falling halfway back into the field in the 4^th heat of the opening round in yesterday’s 100m Olympic Trials, Tyson Gay had a lot of ground to make up. He did well for 70 meters, but then started to slow down. Only a late surge in the last 7 to 10 meters got him into the top 4 of his heat to allow him to continue on to the quarter finals.

In the quarter finals, he did not disappoint. Gay ran his second attempt in 9.77 seconds, breaking Maurice Green’s American record of 9.79 seconds and Olympic Trials record of 9.91 seconds. His performance also broke the Hayworth Field record of 9.81 seconds.

Jeff Demps followed Gay to the finish line in 10.01 seconds, breaking the American Junior record of 10.06 seconds and the American high school record of 10.08 seconds. He also tied the world junior record.

In the second heat, Travis Padgett broke the American collegiate record of 9.90 by running 9.89 seconds.

So far there have been 7 men who have run under 10 seconds. The US is going to have a formidable sprint team to send to Beijing in a month.

Update: Tyson Gay ran a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds today. He had a 4.1 meters per second tailwind. That’s a world’s fastest when disregarding wind assists.

(More Info: USATF)