For years we’ve wondered what Tyson Gay could do if he got healthy; if he could stay on the track. Well, now we know. After taking the 100m title in a 2013 world’s best 9.75 seconds Friday night, Gay finished off the double on Sunday with a world’s best 19.74 in the 200m to take that title, too.
“It feels good to do that,” Gay admitted to reporters Sunday. “I am just happy to be healthy.”
Isaiah Young out of Ole Miss took second in 19.86 and Gay’s training partner Curtis Mitchell earned the third spot in Moscow running 19.99.
Despite winning three gold at the 2007 world championships in Osaka, Gay has struggled in the six years since, dealing with everything from hamstring injuries that sidelined him at the Beijing Games to nagging groin and hip injuries that have kept him from being 100 percent since 2009. He didn’t earn his first Olympic medal until he helped the U.S. take silver in the 4x100m relay at the London Games last summer, when they lost to Jamaica.
But Gay’s recent races and his need to prove himself on a world stage again have him ready to face off against world record holder Usain Bolt in arguably his best event. Bolt ran an easy 19.79 in Oslo two weeks back, but has seven weeks to see how close he can get to his 19.19 from 2009.
The two will also square off in the 100m, where Bolt has struggled this season. His best of the year is so far the 9.94 he ran in Kingston this weekend, nearly two-tenths slower than Gay’s performance in Iowa.
