Tyson Gay: biography

Tyson Gay is an American sprinter. He's the third fastest man of all time in the 200 m. The question is: Can he push Usain Bolt for the Gold medal in London 2012?

Beginnings

Born in Lexington, Kentucky on 9 August 1982, Tyson Gay comes from a family of athletes. His grandmother used to run and so did his mother. He also used to compete against his sister Tiffany in races around his neighbourhood. Debuts When he began sprinting at school, his start was always a part of the race that was lacking. He worked hard on his technique and during his time at Lafayette High School, he broke the stadium record for the 200 meters. As a senior at the school, he concentrated more on the 100 meters and won the State Championships in a time of 10.60 seconds. It was here that Lance Brauman watched young Gay and saw his talent. Although Tyson was not particularly studious, he talked Tyson into attending Barton County Community College where he would be his coach. College With a new coach, his training took a turn for the better and his personal best times dropped to 10.08 seconds and 20.21 seconds in the 100 and
200 meters. He eventually graduated from the college and went on to study at the University of Kentucky, following his coach Brauman (who had been offered the job of sprints coach at the school). In his final year at the university, his
200 m personal best had dropped to 19.93 seconds, which in that year made him the world's third fastest 200m runner.

Career

In 2005 Tyson turned professional and instantly earned himself a national vest to compete at the Helsinki World Championships in the 200m. The USA took a clean sweep of the medals and Gay came home a very respectable 4th. 2005 to present day Tyson spent the next 2 years working on his technique and moved to being coached by Jon Drummond, an expert at quick starts. 2007 In 2007 Gay went to the Osaka World Championships in the 100 & 200 meters coming up against world record holder Asafa Powell in the 100m. Gay returned from the championships with Gold in both his events and helped the USA to Gold in the 4*100m relay. Injuries Since then, injury has plagued his seasons but he did end 2010 with the fastest 100m time in the world. With the World Championships coming up again, can he retain his title against Bolt? As the last man to beat him it may be possible, but can he carry 2010's form into this year and more importantly, into London 2012?