Tyson Gay continued his world-best form by winning the 100 meters in 9.79 seconds at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Gay now owns the three fastest times in the world this season — adding the 9.79 (with a barely legal 2.0 wind) to a 9.75 and a 9.86 — after beating former world-record holder Asafa Powell, who clocked a season’s best 9.88 for second place. American Mike Rodgers was third in 9.96.
Another impressive performance from Gay puts more scrutiny on Usain Bolt, who runs a 200 in Paris on Saturday. Bolt’s best 100 time this season is a pedestrian (for him) 9.94 at Jamaican nationals. Bolt was beaten by American Justin Gatlin in Rome on June 6.
Is Gay the current favorite for the world championships, which begin Aug. 10 in Moscow? You could make a strong argument, but even Gay expects better out of Bolt in Russia.
“It’s no secret that this guy is a championship performer and you have to bring your ‘A’ game to beat him, or better than your ‘A’ game,” he said before the Lausanne meet, according to The Associated Press.
The women’s 100 hurdles saw a shock in Australian Olympic champion Sally Pearson finishing seventh out of eight in 12.69 seconds. Pearson is coming back from a hamstring injury, but in three races since June 27 hasn’t run within four tenths of U.S. champion Brianna Rollins’ world lead.
2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper won the hurdles in a season’s best 12.53, leading a U.S. sweep with Kellie Wells (12.58) and Lolo Jones (12.60). Jones later led off the U.S. 4×100 relay, which was disqualified on Jones’ handoff to the second runner.
In the women’s 200, U.S. champion Kimberlyn Duncan placed third in 22.73 in her first individual race in Europe. Olympic bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter, coming back from a quad injury, was fifth in 22.77, a season’s best. The world lead is held by Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce — 22.13.
David Oliver, who surprisingly missed the 2012 Olympic team, ran a world-leading 13.03 to win the 110 hurdles over fellow Americans Jason Richardson (13.20), Ryan Wilson (13.27) and David Payne (13.30). Oliver had finished second to Wilson at the U.S. Championships.
American Francena McCorory edged reigning world champion Amantle Montsho of Botswana in the 400, 50.36 to 50.37. Jamaican Novlene Williams-Mills, who competed in the London Olympics a month after learning she had breast cancer, was third in 50.87.
Nigerian Blessing Okagbare showed her versatility by beating Olympic champion Brittney Reese in the long jump with a 6.98-meter jump. Okagbare won the 200 in Birmingham on Sunday, an event where she holds the second-fastest time in the world this year.
