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EUGENE, Ore. —
July 1, 2008
Bubba Thornton, head men's coach of the
United States Olympic track and field team, says Tyson Gay ”raised the
bar“ Sunday.
Harvey Glance, a three-time Olympian who
will serve under Thornton as sprints, hurdles and relay coach, sees it as
two bars raised.
Gay, out of Lafayette High School, set
the track world on its ear Sunday with the fastest 100 meters of all time.
Although his 9.68-second dash does not count as a record — it was
wind-aided — it opens new territory.
Early returns from the trials have
raised bars in several events, Thornton told the Track and Field Writers
of America on Monday. In the men's 100 quarterfinals alone, Gay set the
American record (9.77), Travis Padgett of Clemson set a collegiate record
(9.89) and Jeff Demps broke national High School and Junior records, tying
the World Junior record (10.01).
”As that bar is being raised and those
dreams are being sparked by those age-group kids that are running, they
say "I can do that,'“ Thornton said. ”I mean, you look at the
history of track and field, when a barrier goes down all of a sudden the
next day you've got 20 people that can do it. This is an exciting time for
us.“
Gay has become a fan favorite for more
reason than his speed.
Everyone, it seems, has taken note of
his humility, respect for competitors and sheer love of the sport.
Sunday's 2-3 finishers, Walter Dix and Darvis Patton, reflected similar
attitudes Sunday.
The sprinters, they are a-changin' and
Gay's leading the way.
”I've never seen that in sprinting,“
said Glance, who at 19 won a relay gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. ”I
tell people about the race that I ran at Drake Relays when, as a freshman
(at Auburn), I was just jogging up and down the track — my first big
relay meet or anything outside of just collegiate athletics. Ivory
Crockett walks up to me and looks me dead in the eyes and says "I'm
trying to find Harvey Glance.' I said "I'm Harvey Glance.' He said,
"Well, good. I'm Ivory Crockett. Did you come to watch me run today?'“
Glance laughs at the recollection.
”That's the kind of mentality those
old guys had. It was nothing uncommon. ... Houston McTear and Hasely
Crawford, at the Millrose Games, while I'm in the middle of both of them,
are sitting there talking trash to each other. Like "I'm gonna get
out and I'm gonna whip your behind.' I'm sitting there (in the starting
blocks), I raised my hand. I said "I can't even concentrate.'“
Gay simply says that's not the way he
was raised. Even after Sunday's scorcher, he spent most of an hour posing
for pictures and signing autographs until his hand ached. Then, still in
full uniform, he did his best to accommodate the throng of reporters.
”Which, again, it's raising the bar
(on the track) and raising the bar in a different way,“ Glance said. ”So
all this brashness and cockiness need to go out the door because the
people now who are having the most success are the ones who seem to be the
most humble and appreciative of what God has given them. ... Put your
money where your mouth is but, at the same time, "I'm gonna shut up
and do it the way it's supposed to be done.'“
To clock a legal 9.77 and windy 9.68,
Gay made an improbable leap. On May 31, Jamaica's Usain Bolt set the world
record of 9.72. Gay was, by sprint standards, a distant second in 9.85.
A day before these trials began, Gay
talked about how he and his coach, Jon Drummond, studied what went wrong
that day and went to work. Most significantly, Gay said he was ”butt-kicking“
— raising his trail leg too high rather than snapping forward and
driving. Also, he had ”trained through“ that meet, lifting weights
just a few days before.
”Remember now, the race he ran against
Bolt was one of his first races of the season, OK?“ Glance said. ”And
do not underestimate the sharpness that's required to run 100 meters. But
it doesn't take long, when you're in shape, to understand that you learn
from your mistakes. ... He was staying to a schedule and that schedule may
have been more about preparing for the Olympic Trials than running Usain
Bolt in New York.“
Gay, reigning world champion in the 100
and 200 as well as part of the gold-medal 4-by-100 relay team, showed
something Sunday.
”What I saw was an individual who
proved that 2007 was not a fluke,“ Glance said. ”He came back, he got
back on the world stage and he delivered once again. Not many people can
do that. ... He has basically raised the bar. Not only for himself but
people around him, including the coaching staff.“
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