Gay clocked 9.79 seconds in the 100m in a low-key meeting in Florida in his first race of the year last weekend.
"It was my first race and I was about 75%," Gay said as he prepared for his next event at Icahn Stadium.
World record holder Usain Bolt will not compete in New York but Gay will race against pacy Jamaican Steve Mullings.
Mullings, Gay's training partner, won the 100m in 9.80sec at the Diamond League event in Oregon last Saturday.
Gay is hoping to build form and fitness ahead of the world championships
And Gay admitted: "He [Mullings] was running 10.00, now he's running 9.80, I have to step my game up to another level and see what happens."
The main goal this season for Gay, whose personal best time of 9.69 is second only to Bolt's world record of 9.58, will be the world championships in South Korea, starting in August, when the two are scheduled to go head-to-head.
But for now Gay is concentrating on maintaining fitness after recent battles with injuries, saying: "It's very frustrating - but at the same time, in some ways running with injuries or running hurt has made me the person I am today, made me fight harder."
Bolt blew his rivals off the track in his first 200m race in 13 months in Oslo on Thursday, the Jamaican running 19.86 - only five-hundredths of a second outside of Frankie Fredericks's track-record time.
Hepthathlon world champion Jessica Ennis will lead the British charge at the event, as she competes in the 100m hurdles.
The 25-year-old faces American world indoor champion Lolo Jones who she beat both this and last season in Glasgow over 60m hurdles.
Phillips Idowu,another victor in the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, is tied at the top of the Diamond League triple jump standings with Frenchman Teddy Tamgho and the pair meet once more.
Welshman Dai Greene will hope to overhaul in-form LJ van Zyl in the 400m hurdles after two defeats to the South African so far this season.
Saturday's meeting at Randall's Island near Manhattan also features two-time women's world high jump champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia and three-time 200m world champion Allyson Felix of the United States.
Highlights - Bolt destroys field in rainy Oslo
Vlasic, the 2010 world athlete of the year, is building form and fitness after an illness in January which resulted in her missing.
She has a personal best (PB) of 2.08 metres only one centimetre below the world record set by Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria at the 1987 world championships in Rome.
"I can't not think about [the world record], because somebody always asks me about it," Vlasic said. "I'm trying not to be under too much stress. It's something that I would like to do.
"I'd like to go one step forward to break my PB, and my new PB would be also the world record."
For South Africa's Oscar Pistorius the meeting offers him another chance to qualify for the 400m at the world championships.
The double amputee, who has fought a long legal battle to compete against able-bodied athletes, has a best time of 45.61 and needs to get down to 45.25 to qualify.
"Every race, we pretend is the race I need to qualify," said Pistorius.
Showing posts with label sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sport. Show all posts
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tyson Gay out for the rest of the year with hip injury
The sprinter, 28, who would have been one of Usain Bolt's main rivals in South Korea, withdrew before his 100m semi-final at the US national trials.
Gay had an arthroscopic procedure on his hip and will now focus on preparing for next summer's Olympics in London.
Earlier this season he clocked 9.79 seconds for the 100m - the fastest time in the world this year.
His personal best - 9.69 seconds - is a US national record and the second fastest time ever recorded, behind Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds.
Gay had qualified from his heat at the US trials in a wind-assisted 10.01 seconds, second behind Ivory Williams and third fastest overall, but pulled out before the semi-final, citing a recurrence of a problem in his right hip and adductor muscle.
TYSON GAY FACTFILE
Continue reading the main story
2007 World Championships 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold medallist
2009 world 100m silver medallist
Second fastest 100m runner in history (9.69 seconds)
Ran the fastest 100m of 2010 (9.78 seconds)
Beat double Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt the last time they raced
"I've been bandaging it up (and) couldn't really take (it) anymore," Gay said. "I decided to stay healthy. It's pretty painful running in pain."
His semi-final was won by Williams, who was then disqualified from the final as Walter Dix won in 9.94 seconds.
Justin Gatlin, the disgraced 2004 Olympic champion who has returned to the sport after completing a drugs ban, finished just one hundredth of a second behind Dix in second with Michael Rodgers third to complete the US trio for Daegu.
Gay could still be part of the 4x100m relay team were he to recover in time, USA Track and Field (USATF) officials said.
"But he has to be able to show fitness and be able to run," said USATF President Stephanie Hightower.
Gay's doctor, Marc Philippon, appeared to rule out that possibility, saying Gay should only be able to resume training within the next six to nine weeks.
"It is a big blow," said Dix of Gay's potential loss to the relay squad. "Tyson at his best is one of the top runners in the world. We're going to have to step up."
Gay has been badly affected by injuries since winning the 100m and 200m world titles in Osaka in 2007.
In 2008, he was injured during the 200m at the US Olympic trials and later that year failed to make the 100m final at the Beijing Games.
The following year, he pulled out of the 200m after taking 100m silver behind Bolt when the Jamaican broke the world record at the World Championships in Berlin.
Former world record holder Asafa Powell edged out Bolt's training partner Yohan Blake to win the Jamaican 100m trials for the World Championships.
Powell clocked a winning time of 10.08 seconds into a headwind and was joined by Blake (10.09) and Steve Mullings (10.10) in claiming berths for Daegu.
World record holder Bolt did not compete in the trials because he has a wildcard bye as the defending champion in both the 100m and 200m.
Gay had an arthroscopic procedure on his hip and will now focus on preparing for next summer's Olympics in London.
Earlier this season he clocked 9.79 seconds for the 100m - the fastest time in the world this year.
His personal best - 9.69 seconds - is a US national record and the second fastest time ever recorded, behind Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds.
Gay had qualified from his heat at the US trials in a wind-assisted 10.01 seconds, second behind Ivory Williams and third fastest overall, but pulled out before the semi-final, citing a recurrence of a problem in his right hip and adductor muscle.
TYSON GAY FACTFILE
Continue reading the main story
2007 World Championships 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold medallist
2009 world 100m silver medallist
Second fastest 100m runner in history (9.69 seconds)
Ran the fastest 100m of 2010 (9.78 seconds)
Beat double Olympic and world champion Usain Bolt the last time they raced
"I've been bandaging it up (and) couldn't really take (it) anymore," Gay said. "I decided to stay healthy. It's pretty painful running in pain."
His semi-final was won by Williams, who was then disqualified from the final as Walter Dix won in 9.94 seconds.
Justin Gatlin, the disgraced 2004 Olympic champion who has returned to the sport after completing a drugs ban, finished just one hundredth of a second behind Dix in second with Michael Rodgers third to complete the US trio for Daegu.
Gay could still be part of the 4x100m relay team were he to recover in time, USA Track and Field (USATF) officials said.
"But he has to be able to show fitness and be able to run," said USATF President Stephanie Hightower.
Gay's doctor, Marc Philippon, appeared to rule out that possibility, saying Gay should only be able to resume training within the next six to nine weeks.
"It is a big blow," said Dix of Gay's potential loss to the relay squad. "Tyson at his best is one of the top runners in the world. We're going to have to step up."
Gay has been badly affected by injuries since winning the 100m and 200m world titles in Osaka in 2007.
In 2008, he was injured during the 200m at the US Olympic trials and later that year failed to make the 100m final at the Beijing Games.
The following year, he pulled out of the 200m after taking 100m silver behind Bolt when the Jamaican broke the world record at the World Championships in Berlin.
Former world record holder Asafa Powell edged out Bolt's training partner Yohan Blake to win the Jamaican 100m trials for the World Championships.
Powell clocked a winning time of 10.08 seconds into a headwind and was joined by Blake (10.09) and Steve Mullings (10.10) in claiming berths for Daegu.
World record holder Bolt did not compete in the trials because he has a wildcard bye as the defending champion in both the 100m and 200m.
Felipe Massa warns Lewis Hamilton to 'calm down'
McLaren driver Hamilton's season has been marked by incidents, including one which ended Massa's Monaco Grand Prix.
This prompted Formula 1 legends Niki Lauda and Sir Stirling Moss to criticise Hamilton's driving style.
"When you have some difficult races, when maybe you're trying too much, you have to calm down a bit," said Massa.
"It would be better for him too, because he was paying for it.
"He was penalised in a few races. And it wasn't just with me, he even hit his own team-mate!
"But Lewis is a clever guy and I'm sure he is already knows this."
2011 DRIVER STANDINGS
Continue reading the main story
S. Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 186 points
J. Button (GB) McLaren 109
M. Webber (Aus) Red Bull 109
L. Hamilton (GB) McLaren 97
F. Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 87
F. Massa (Bra) Ferrari 42
Hamilton's coming together with McLaren team-mate Jenson Button at the Canadian Grand Prix has been the low-point of an eventful 2011 campaign for the 2008 world champion.
Having been punished for two accidents in Monaco, Hamilton went to Montreal a fortnight later and got involved in three separate incidents in the first eight laps, the last being a collision with Button.
It was this episode that provoked Lauda to describe Hamilton, who was forced to retire with a puncture, as "completely mad".
But Button, who would go on to win the race, defended Hamilton afterwards, saying his team-mate was "a racer, a fighter" and "one of the best drivers F1 has seen".
For his part, Hamilton has reacted angrily to the comments about his driving style and has restated his intention to keep pressing hard to overhaul the dominant Red Bulls.
Vettel, the defending champion, comes into Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone with a 77-point lead, having won six of eight Grands Prix this year.
Massa, who is sixth in the standings, 144 points behind Vettel, acknowledges the German is now the "complete driver" having ironed out the mistakes that once saw him record too many non-finishes.
Continue reading the main story
I am still aggressive and quick and will keep pushing for victories
Felipe Massa
Ferrari
"Vettel is a good driver and he's got a great car, which is a great position to be in," said Massa. "He's learned a lot and has certainly had a great championship so far. But the season is not over."
Massa, who finished a very close second to Hamilton in 2008, downplayed suggestions that new rules coming into force this weekend could bring the Red Bulls back to the pack.
When asked about the banning of the Red Bull-pioneered "off-throttle blown diffusers" (an exhaust system that generates downforce), the 30-year-old said it was impossible to say what impact the change would have as all the top teams used the system and would lose performance.
A popular figure in the sport, Massa gained considerable sympathy for his return from a career-threatening accident in 2009, when debris from another car hit his helmet at high speed. That kept him out of racing for six months but his comeback race in 2010 saw him finish second behind team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Subsequent results have not been so good but Massa is adamant he is no less a driver than he was prior to his injury.
"We didn't have a great season last year but I believe in my team, my engineers and myself - I am still aggressive and quick and will keep pushing for victories," he said.
He also shrugged off speculation about his future at Ferrari, saying he had a contract for next season and may even stay longer at the team he has loyally served for five years.
This prompted Formula 1 legends Niki Lauda and Sir Stirling Moss to criticise Hamilton's driving style.
"When you have some difficult races, when maybe you're trying too much, you have to calm down a bit," said Massa.
"It would be better for him too, because he was paying for it.
"He was penalised in a few races. And it wasn't just with me, he even hit his own team-mate!
"But Lewis is a clever guy and I'm sure he is already knows this."
2011 DRIVER STANDINGS
Continue reading the main story
S. Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 186 points
J. Button (GB) McLaren 109
M. Webber (Aus) Red Bull 109
L. Hamilton (GB) McLaren 97
F. Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 87
F. Massa (Bra) Ferrari 42
Hamilton's coming together with McLaren team-mate Jenson Button at the Canadian Grand Prix has been the low-point of an eventful 2011 campaign for the 2008 world champion.
Having been punished for two accidents in Monaco, Hamilton went to Montreal a fortnight later and got involved in three separate incidents in the first eight laps, the last being a collision with Button.
It was this episode that provoked Lauda to describe Hamilton, who was forced to retire with a puncture, as "completely mad".
But Button, who would go on to win the race, defended Hamilton afterwards, saying his team-mate was "a racer, a fighter" and "one of the best drivers F1 has seen".
For his part, Hamilton has reacted angrily to the comments about his driving style and has restated his intention to keep pressing hard to overhaul the dominant Red Bulls.
Vettel, the defending champion, comes into Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone with a 77-point lead, having won six of eight Grands Prix this year.
Massa, who is sixth in the standings, 144 points behind Vettel, acknowledges the German is now the "complete driver" having ironed out the mistakes that once saw him record too many non-finishes.
Continue reading the main story
I am still aggressive and quick and will keep pushing for victories
Felipe Massa
Ferrari
"Vettel is a good driver and he's got a great car, which is a great position to be in," said Massa. "He's learned a lot and has certainly had a great championship so far. But the season is not over."
Massa, who finished a very close second to Hamilton in 2008, downplayed suggestions that new rules coming into force this weekend could bring the Red Bulls back to the pack.
When asked about the banning of the Red Bull-pioneered "off-throttle blown diffusers" (an exhaust system that generates downforce), the 30-year-old said it was impossible to say what impact the change would have as all the top teams used the system and would lose performance.
A popular figure in the sport, Massa gained considerable sympathy for his return from a career-threatening accident in 2009, when debris from another car hit his helmet at high speed. That kept him out of racing for six months but his comeback race in 2010 saw him finish second behind team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Subsequent results have not been so good but Massa is adamant he is no less a driver than he was prior to his injury.
"We didn't have a great season last year but I believe in my team, my engineers and myself - I am still aggressive and quick and will keep pushing for victories," he said.
He also shrugged off speculation about his future at Ferrari, saying he had a contract for next season and may even stay longer at the team he has loyally served for five years.
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