One down, one to go. Tyson Gay returned to the Nagai Stadium this morning 36 hours after winning the 100m title for stage two of the desired sprint double.
Understandably keen to preserve his energy after the strains of Sunday night, Gay began his campaign at his favoured event, with a relaxed run, just the easy introduction to the half-lap contest he was looking for.
Slow out of blocks, Gay made up ground in the straight, edged ahead of his opponents with 50m to go, and looked left and right from 30m out. Slowing to the line, he crossed first, 0.01 ahead of 100m finallist Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles and the South American champion Sandro Viana of Brazil.
Gay finished an agonising fourth in Helsinki two years ago behind three US teammates but anything less than first here would be a disappointment for the Kentucky flier.
Gay’s training partner Wallace Spearmon looks the man most likely to get in the way. The silver medallist last time, Spearmon was perhaps most comfortable of the qualifiers, looking silky smooth as he jogged over the line third in the last of the six heats, won by Belgium’s Kristof Beyens. Spearmon clocked 20.43 behind Jamaica’s Marvin Anderson.
United States versus Jamaica has been the theme of the sprints so far, one set to continue with world junior record holder Usain Bolt Gay and Spearmon’s main threat. The tall Jamaican was quickest of the trio in the first round with a comfortable run in heat 4.
Bolt finished second in 20.12, easing down to give Anastasios Gousis the honour of crossing the line first with the fastest time of the round, 20.11, his best by more than a third of a second. The Greek was easing down too! Brendan Christian smashed the Antiguan national record with 20.23 in third.
The small but enthusiastic crowd was roused from its morning slumber by three Japanaese qualifiers. The host nation’s Shinji Takahira won the first heat in 20.83, Asian record holder Shingo Suetsugu qualified comfortably from the third, finishing second in 20.47, and the World Student Games medallist Tomoya Kamiyama took fourth in heat five with 20.78.
There were no major casualties for the half lappers. European champion Francis Obikwelu qualified quietly in heat six. After a disastrous DQ in the 100m the Portuguese man made no mistakes this time round, finishing fourth in 20.61.
It was a good morning for the middle east as Khalil Al-Hanahneh and Amr Ibrahim Mostafa Seoud set national records for Jordan and Egypt, respectively, Seoud’s new mark seeing him into the second round.
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb
