Sports Then and Now

Tyson Gay stands alone as Bolt and Powell throw in the towel.

It was supposed to have been the climactic finale – the mouth-watering replay of 2009’s World Championship 100-meter dash in Berlin.

Yes, that race.

The one where Usain Bolt obliterated his own amazing 9.69 world record from Beijing, 2008.

The one where Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, the world’s next fastest sprinters ever, were sucked along in Bolt’s draft to post incredible yet inadequate times of their own (9.71 and 9.84).

The one which catapulted Bolt into stratospheric realms, beyond the reach of mere humanity.

But that was 2009 and this is 2010 – and since that race, a few million gallons of water has flowed under the bridge:

• Later in 2009, Gay established a new American record (9.69) in Shanghai in a race he described as “not technically good”.

• The 2010 season has been the quadrennial “down year” with no global championships, thus many athletes have used 2010 as a year to retreat from intensive training regimens to rest and heal.

• The new Diamond League series of 14 international meets was launched, promising track and field fans multiple head-to-head showdowns. While there were several extremely talent-laden meets and exceptional performances, many of the elite match-ups failed to materialize because of the down year or debilitating injuries.

• Gay beat Powell in Gateshead, beat Bolt in Stockholm, and established the season’s best time (9.78) in London.

• Bolt and Powell have since shut down their seasons, citing lower back (some say spine) problems.

So now, instead of the Big Three getting together in Brussels this Friday in the final Diamond League meet (and that sumptuous re-match of 2009), only Gay remains to give fans a glimpse of the brilliance which might have been. Read the rest of this entry →

Like the elusive butterfly, Usain Bolt fluttered about the cosmic regions just beyond the reach of mere humanity. His fame and image took on such lofty levels after his utter demolition of two world records* – not once, but twice.

All along, Bolt had shunned his public deification, insisting he could be beaten, if only on a bad day.

But his followers would hear none of it, exalting him even higher – into aerie territory reserved for the likes of Jordan, Pele, Ali…

Ever the realist, Bolt again left a thin crack in the door, saying 2010 would be his rivals’ best chance at an upset. His primary focus would be on 2011 (World Championships) and 2012 (Olympics).

To American Tyson Gay, who wears the mantle of “world’s second-fastest human” like a dirty rag, the crack in Bolt’s door must have seemed like the gaping maw of paradise. Read the rest of this entry →