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A three-way contest

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A three-way contest

Three men — two Jamaicans and an American — who own eight of the nine sub-9.80 timings on the all-time list are set to line up in the final in Beijing. Usain Bolt 9.72, Asafa Powell 9.74 and Tyson Gay 9.77. It will be a cracker of a 100-metre contest at the Olympic Games, writes K. P. Mohan.

Which was the greatest sprint contest in athletics history? Well, we can have an endless debate without reaching a consensus. Different eras have had an array of talented sprinters, rousing contests and record-breaking performances and there can never be any unanimity of views.

When American Jim Hines became the first man to dip under 10 seconds in the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, it looked an awesome effort. Three-hundred and two more performances below 10 seconds have been added to the list (up to July 25, 2008) since Hines’s effort was ratified as the first 100 metres world record in the automated era at 9.95.

Is there a limit to human performance?

The question keeps coming up every now and then, especially when the men’s 100 metres world record is bettered. Perhaps Usain Bolt’s 9.72 in the Reebok Grand Prix in New York on May 31 has come ahead of times. But then, who would have thought that Asafa Powell would bring it down from 9.77 to 9.74 in just one year.

Some scientists and researchers say performances are levelling off; others say there is still plenty to come.

What we can look forward to in the immediate future is a cracker of a 100-metre contest in the Beijing Olympic Games. Maybe the world record might yet get broken. Since Hines, only Canadian Donovan Bailey had bettered the 100m world record in an Olympics, at the Atlanta Games in 1996.

Three men who own eight of the nine sub-9.80 timings on the all-time list should line up in the final in Beijing, two Jamaicans and an American. It will be a tremendous sight: Bolt 9.72, Powell 9.74 and Tyson Gay 9.77. (The only other man in the exclusive sub-9.80 club, American Maurice Greene, has retired.)

The 100m dash at the Olympics was supposed to be a duel between Powell and Gay. Now, Bolt has come out of the blue, as it were, and there is a mouth-watering contest that is developing as we edge towards Beijing. If he does compete in the 100 metres, Bolt can potentially be a threat to fellow Jamaican Powell’s dreams of a global title and Gay’s attempt to add the Olympic crown to his World champion tag.

The problem is, Bolt is not a 100m specialist and that’s why when he clocked 9.72, a lot many people raised their eyebrows. They asked: “Bolt, who? Is he clean?” Before this year, he had just one race over the straight, a 10.03 at Rethymno, Greece, in July last year.

Though Bolt wants to run both 100 and 200 in Beijing, he has left the final decision to coach Glen Mills.

Mills said in June that Bolt’s inexperience at running so many races in such a short time is one factor that might force him to drop his 100-metre ambitions.

The title of the ‘fastest man’ in the Olympics is something every sprinter looks forward to. With the defending champion, Justin Gatlin, out of the fray because of a doping ban, the focus in Beijing would surely be on Bolt, Powell and Gay. It does not mean the others cannot spring a surprise.

Bolt put daylight between him and Gay in New York while clocking that incredible 9.72 seconds. Gay, at 9.85, could only say a few words in admiration, but a month later the American ran a wind-aided 9.68 in the US Olympic trials, the fastest under all conditions, to assert that he would be as much a contender as the Jamaican duo in Beijing. Unfortunately for Gay, a hamstring strain prevented him from going for the 200 in the US Olympic trials in Eugene, and the injury can still bother him in the run-up to the Olympics.

In terms of championship victories at the senior level, only Gay has the right credentials among the three. In a clash that did not rise to the expected levels, he comfortably beat Powell for the 100-metre title at the Osaka World Championships last year after initially trailing the Jamaican. Gay timed 9.85 seconds and Powell was not even behind him at the finish, coming third in 9.96 seconds with Bahamas’ Derrick Atkins taking the silver at 9.91s. In four previous encounters, beginning 2006, Powell had triumphed over Gay.

As the world record holder at 9.77s then, Powell could have been expected to destroy the field, but he failed on the big stage a third time, after having been disqualified in the semifinal in 2003 and finished fifth in the Athens Olympics where Gatlin powered to a memorable victory. An injury forced the Jamaican out of the Helsinki Worlds in 2005.

Powell came back last September with a world record in Rieti, Italy, clocking 9.74s, but the tag of “a big man for the small stage” stuck on the 25-year-old Jamaican more than ever before. He has not been in the best of fitness this season but scored a morale-boosting victory over Bolt at the DN Galan IAAF athletics meet in Stockholm and then triumphed again in London, though a modest field ran him close.

After beating Bolt in Stockholm, Powell declared that he was ready for Beijing. “It was very important to beat him this week,” he said after clocking 9.88 seconds in Stockholm, his fastest for the season. Bolt was just one-hundredth of a second behind.

“Once I run faster than 9.88, I’ll be confident,” Powell said. “It’s always good to run 9.7s. I’ve done it six times (five actually) so no doubt it would be good to do it again.”

About the absence of Gay in Stockholm, Powell said: “He’s only beaten me once in his life so it doesn’t make any difference to me. I just have to concentrate on myself.”

What about Bolt? Just 21, he is not exactly a greenhorn. In fact he is the World Championship silver medallist in the 200 metres and is the favourite to win the event in Beijing. A world junior record holder in the 200 metres apart from being the world record holder in the shorter dash, Bolt looks to have the ammunition to blast both Gay and Powell. The only uncertain part will be the nerves that could affect the best of runners in championships races.

Powell admitted he panicked in Osaka, when he saw Gay on his shoulder.

Bolt did not make excuses after his 200m defeat to Gay at the World Championship last year. He said the American was unbeatable. But he also said he would be ready in 2008. “I am willing to do what it takes to beat Gay come next year,” the Jamaican had said at that time.

Bolt, who beat Powell in the trials back home, 9.85 to 9.97, still considers himself a better 200-metre sprinter rather than the man to beat on the straight. He is too tall (6ft 5in) for a sprinter and does not have an explosive start in the 100. And yet he had run five sub-10s by July 22 this year. Added to it was the 19.76 in London that broke the British all-comers record for the 200. He looks set for the Olympic double.

However, we have to note one point. Championship races do not always return record holders as winners. Powell knows that too well; Bolt might learn. Gay has a lot of catching up to do having missed a few crucial run-up races. If both his main rivals are not completely fit, then Bolt should run away with the gold. Count the lesser characters in the fray, Derrick Atkins, Francis Obikwelu of Portugal and Darvis Patton of the US, and this could well turn out to be the best sprint contest of all time.

Last time in Athens, the top five came under 10 seconds. At the 1991 World Championships, where the 100m was regarded by many as the best dash ever — despite some of them turning out to be dope cheats later — the top six cracked 10s with Carl Lewis clocking a world record 9.86 for the gold, ahead of team-mate and world record holder Leroy Burrell.

Fasten your seat belts. The edge-of-the-seat drama is set to unfold at 8.00 p.m. IST in Beijing on August 16.
 
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