EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Tyson Gay took a giant swig of water before crouching into the blocks.
The American record holder cleared his mind — forgetting about the surgically repaired hip or that he really hasn’t tested it out at top-end speed in more than a year.
All that mattered was this race, the 100-meter final in the U.S. Olympics trials Sunday night.
And after flying down the track, not a trace of a limp in his step, this much was clear: The old Tyson Gay was back. He finished second to 2004 Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin, who crossed the line in 9.80 seconds. Gay was only 0.06 seconds behind, but the time hardly mattered.
He was going to the London Games when a year ago, it looked improbable.
