Gay fails to advance to 100 final

Print | Comments () Posted by Shira Springer, Globe Staff August 16, 2008 08:44 AM

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BEIJING-Tyson Gay failed to qualify for the men’s 100 meter dash final, finishing fifth in his semifinal heat with a time of 10.05 seconds. As a result, there will be no dream 100 final with Gay and Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. What was hyped as a race to close to call now appears to favor Bolt, who won his semifinal in 9.85. And he still wasn’t anywhere close to pushing his body. Americans Water Dix (9.95) and Darvis Patton (10.03) both advanced to the final.

“I got tight a little bit because I was trying to make it to the finals,” said Gay, who started in lane 9. “I really couldn’t see anybody, then toward the end I saw everybody and I was like, ‘Dang.’ I tried to relax, but I think it was too late.”

Gay said his hamstring felt fine and did not affect his performance, though it did derail his training enough to make a difference. With time to train more and race once or twice before the Olympics, Gay figured there might have been a better result in the semifinal.