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Brussels, Belgium - For the first time ever, the world’s three
pre-eminent sprinters Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, will meet
in the same 100m race when the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme meeting, the finale of the ÅF Golden League 2008, takes place in the Belgian capital on Friday 5 September 2008.
The Brussels’ dash is literally the premier encounter between the premier sprinters of our time.
Sadly, in his own words, Gay is “looking forward to it” but “I'm not
at 100% yet”. The American is still nursing a hamstring injury
sustained in the 200m at the US Olympic Trials. Gay had a victorious
outing on Sunday at 200m winning in a rainy Gateheads in 20.26 sec.
By contrast the two Jamaicans have continued to be in sparkling form
in the days since the Beijing Olympic Games. Bolt has run 9.83 in
ZĂĽrich and 19.63 for the 200m last night in Lausanne (2 Sep), while
Powell slid his way to an astonishing 9.87 victory in horrendously wet
conditions in Gateshead on Sunday (31 Aug), and backed that up with a
PB 9.72 dash in Lausanne, equalling the second fastest time ever run.
Yet whatever the fitness or form of our triumvirate, Brussels’ King
Baudouin Stadium on Friday will witness an historic sprinting moment.
The newly crowned Olympic champion Usain Bolt has only ever once met
World champion Tyson Gay at the 100m distance, the Jamaican beginning
his current period of ascendancy with a 9.72 World record in New York
on 31 May, ahead of a stunned Gay, who ran 9.85.
With the American champion not making it through to the final in
Beijing, the New York encounter remains their only 100m clash. At 200m,
the balance remains in Gay’s favour, the World champion having headed
the Beijing winner in six of their eight meetings at the longer sprint.
Bolt, a newcomer to the 100m this season having only raced the dash
once prior to the start of this year, has met the former World record
holder Powell on just three occasions in their careers. The win-loss
gauge is 2 to 1 in favour of Bolt, with Powell having taken a narrow
victory in Stockholm just prior to Beijing when, the soon to be crowned
Olympic champion, absolutely slept in his blocks. The two have never
met over the 200m.
When the head to head battles between World 100m and 200m champion
Gay and Powell are scrutinised - overlooking Gay’s aforementioned
absence from the Olympic final in Beijing -Â the Jamaican has a 5 to 1
victory credit over the American. Powell has never raced Gay over 200m.
Courtesy of IAAF.
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