Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 and 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete over 100 m ever, along with Yohan Blake of Jamaica.
Gay has won medals in many major international competitions, which include 3 gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m and relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. This made him the second man to win all three events at the same World Championships, after Maurice Greene (Usain Bolt duplicated the feat two years later). Gay is a four-time U.S. champion in the 100 m.
At the 2008 Olympic Trials, he ran a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds in the 100 m. Days later, he suffered a severe hamstring injury in the 200 m trials and did not win any medals at the Beijing Olympics. He clocked 9.71 seconds to win the 100 m silver medal in the 2009 World Championships — it is the fastest non-winning time in the history of the 100 m.
In July 2013, it was announced that Gay had tested positive for a banned substance; he subsequently withdrew from consideration for the World Championships in Moscow. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended him until June 23, 2014, and stripped him of his silver medal in the relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Gay is a two-time winner of the Jesse Owens Award, was the 2007 IAAF World Athlete of the Year, won Best Track and Field Athlete for Track & Field News in 2007, and won the ESPY Award in 2008 and 2011. He has also achieved multiple Men's season's best performances in the 100 m and 200 m.
Early life Born on August 9, 1982, in Lexington, Kentucky, Tyson Gay is the only son of Daisy Gay and Greg Mitchell.Notable Kentucky African Americans Database . University of Kentucky Libraries (January 26, 2009). Retrieved on 2009-01-26. Athletic prowess was part of his family life; Gay's grandmother ran for Eastern Kentucky University and his mother Daisy also competed in her youth, though she was pregnant with her first child by her early teens.Soft-spoken shell broken . NBC (July 30, 2008). Retrieved on 2009-01-26. Gay's older sister, Tiffany, was a keen sprinter and had a successful high school career. Gay and Tiffany, encouraged by their mother, raced at every opportunity, training hard at school and on the hills in their neighborhood.Cyphers, Luke. Ladies Man. ESPN. Retrieved on 2009-01-26. There was strong competition between the two, and Gay later said that his sister's quick reaction time inspired him to improve.
Amateur career Although Gay tended to be a slow starter on the track,Patrick, Dick (August 23, 2007). Gay puts best foot forward in bid for medal at worlds. USA Today. Retrieved on 2009-01-27. he worked hard to improve and broke the Lafayette High School stadium record for the 200 meters. Under the tutelage of Ken Northington, a former 100-yard dash state champion, Gay began working on his technique and rhythm.Maloney, Mark (March 4, 2007). Catch him if you can . Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. Archived copy at WebCite (November 28, 2009). By his senior year he was a more composed athlete and he focused on the 100 meters, winning the state championship in the event and setting a new championship record of 10.60 s. In spite of this, his mother noted that he was not fully applying himself and was taking his abilities for granted. Gay was also not a studious child and he failed to achieve the grades needed to enter a Division I sports college. However, the Kentucky High School State Championships in June 2001 demonstrated his abilities: he won gold in the 100 m, setting a new personal best and state record with 10.46 s.National/Kentucky overall state records. Kentucky High School Athletics Association. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. In the 200 m he took silver with another new personal best of 21.23 s.KHSAA Class AAA Track and Field. Kentucky High School Athletics Association (June 2, 2001). Retrieved on 2009-01-28. At a 2001 track event, Gay met trainer Lance Brauman and the college coach convinced him to attend Barton County Community College. It was here that Gay first met Jamaican sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown, and the two formed a close bond, becoming training partners.
The move to the college in Great Bend, Kansas, marked further progression for Gay: in 2002 his 100 m and 200 m times dropped to 10.08 s and 20.21 s respectively, albeit with wind assistance.Lilot, Dan (November 4, 2002). 2002 U.S. Men's List . Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. He improved upon his legal personal bests too, recording a 100 m run of 10.27 s and 20.88 s in the 200 m.Tyson Gay competition record. Team USA. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. He also continued to outstrip the competition, winning the 100 m at the NJCAA National Championship. Returning to the NJCAA event the following year, with the wind in his favour, Gay took bronze in the 100 m with 10.01 s and silver in the 200 m with 20.31 s.Lilot, Dan (September 30, 2003). 2003 U.S. Men's List . Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2009-01-28. Injuries upset the rest of 2003 for Gay, and his coach Brauman moved on to work as the sprint coach at the University of Arkansas where Gay followed.
National debut Gay chose to study sociology and marketing, and the university environment gave the 22-year-old sprinter his first opportunity to compete in NCAA events. At the 2004 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, Gay finished fourth in the 60 meters, with 6.63 s, and fifth in the closely fought 200 m with a time of 20.58 s. Gay missed out on second place in the 200 m by only two hundredths of a second.Men's 60 meter final . University of Arkansas (March 13, 2004). Retrieved on 2009-01-29.Men's 200 meter final . University of Arkansas (March 13, 2004). Retrieved on 2009-01-29. The 2004 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June proved far more fruitful, however, as Gay became Arkansas' first 100 m NCAA champion, setting a school record of 10.06 s.2004 Men's Division I Outdoor Track And Field Championship Finals 100 Meter Dash . NCAA (2004). Retrieved on 2009-01-29. Furthermore, his efforts in the event helped the Arkansas athletic team win the NCAA Championship.
The results of Gay's first 2004 US Olympic Trials confirmed his status as a rising contender in the 100 m and 200 m events. Although he did not reach the final of either event, he reached the semis of the highly competitive 100 m and posted a 200 m personal best of 20.07 s in the qualifying stages.Men 100 Meter Dash. USA Track and Field (2004). Retrieved on 2009-01-29.Men 200 Meter Dash. USA Track and Field (2004). Retrieved on 2009-01-29. A hamstring injury due to dehydration prevented Gay from competing in the 200 m final, but he did not see the trials as a missed opportunity, rather a springboard for future events: "I was really focused upon the team, had a great shot, but it was a learning experience—how to take care of my body." The end of year Track and Field News rankings for United States sprinters showed him to be the eighth fastest 100 m runner and the fourth fastest sprinter over 200 m that year—indicative of his potential, he was younger than all those ranked ahead of him.Lilot, Dan (January 26, 2005). 2004 U.S. Men's List . Track and Field News. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
In Gay's final year as an amateur athlete he started well, setting a personal best and school record of 6.55 s in the 60 m at the 2005 Championship Series.2005 Visa Championship Series. USATF (February 11, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-06. He helped the university team to another NCAA outdoor victory, setting a new personal best of 19.93 s in the 200 m qualifiers and placing third in the finals. Training partner and friend Wallace Spearmon took first place with 19.91 s—his time and Gay's 19.93 s were the second and third-fastest 200 m times in the world that year.2005 Men's Division I Outdoor Track And Field . NCAA (June 11, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-03.200 metres 2003. IAAF (February 10, 2006). Retrieved on 2009-02-03. The pair teamed up for the relay, along with Michael Grant and Omar Brown, and won with an Arkansas-record-breaking time of 38.49 s.2005 Men's Division I Outdoor Track And Field 4x100 Meter Relay . NCAA (June 10, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-03.Michael Grant Arkansas Football. Arkansas Razorbacks. Retrieved on 2009-02-03. With the NCAA Championships behind him, in June 2005 Gay decided to become a professional athlete, setting his sights on a place in the US 200 m team for the Helsinki World Championships.Tyson's Biography . Tyson Gay official website. Retrieved on 2009-02-03.
Professional career Debut season
Upon turning professional, Gay entered the USA Outdoor Championships, where he took silver in the 200 m with 20.06 s.Men 200 Meter Dash Open . USATF (June 26, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-06.Gatlin's Double Puts Him in Rare Company. The New York Times (June 27, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-06. He was selected for the 200 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki and finished fourth, beaten by three of his compatriots (Justin Gatlin, Wallace Spearmon and John Capel). This completed the unprecedented feat of a single nation taking the top four positions at the championship event. Gay formed part of the relay team but a poor baton exchange between Mardy Scales and Leonard Scott resulted in disqualification.Golden Gatlin leads US blitz. Times of India (August 13, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-06. Later in the month, Gay briefly turned his attentions to the 100 m and scored a season's best of 10.08 s at the Rieti Grand Prix.Three Middle distance world bests in Rieti Grand Prix – REPORT. IAAF (August 25, 2005). Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
He ended the 2005 season on a positive note by winning the gold medal in the 200 m at the World Athletics Final, his first major championship title. His time of 19.96 s was his second fastest that year and fourth fastest of any sprinter that season. Although he stated that the quality of the competition and memories of Helsinki had made him nervous beforehand, he went on to beat all three American sprinters he had lost to in the World Championships, becoming the first athlete to beat Gatlin over 200 m that season.Ramsak, Bob (September 9, 2005). Gay – better, stronger, fresher – World Athletics Final. IAAF. Retrieved on 2009-03-17. It was not only his rival sprinters that would cause future difficulties, however, as Gay's coach Brauman was indicted for various crimes relating to his time at Barton College and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He had helped athletes gain funds and credits that they were not entitled to. Following Gay's testimony, the courts ruled that Brauman was guilty and, as a result, Arkansas' two NCAA titles and all of Gay's college track times were annulled. None of the athletes were charged with any wrongdoing. Although he was imprisoned for 10 months, Brauman continued to train Gay, periodically updating him with coaching routines and techniques.Hart, Simon (July 1, 2007). Inside knowledge puts Gay in fast lane. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
Double event sprinter