At a 2001 track event, Gay met trainer Lance Brauman and the college coach convinced him to attend Barton County Community College.
In the 200 m he took silver with another new personal best of 21.23 s. However, the Kentucky High School State Championships in June 2001 demonstrated his abilities: he won gold in the 100 m, setting a new personal best and state record with 10.46 s. Gay was also not a studious child and he failed to achieve the grades needed to enter a Division I sports college. In spite of this, his mother noted that he was not fully applying himself and was taking his abilities for granted. By his senior year he was a more composed athlete and he focused on the 100 meters, winning the state championship in the event and setting a new championship record of 10.60 s. Under the tutelage of Ken Northington, a former 100-yard dash state champion, Gay began working on his technique and rhythm. Amateur career Īlthough Gay tended to be a slow starter on the track, he worked hard to improve and broke the Lafayette High School stadium record for the 200 meters. There was strong competition between the two, and Gay later said that his sister's quick reaction time inspired him to improve. Tiffany and Tyson Gay, encouraged by their mother, raced at every opportunity, training hard at school and on the hills in their neighborhood. Gay's older sister, Tiffany, was a keen sprinter and had a successful high school career. Athletic prowess was part of his family life Gay's grandmother ran for Eastern Kentucky University and his mother Daisy also competed in her youth, though she was pregnant with her first child by her early teens. He has also achieved multiple Men's season's best performances in the 100 m and 200 m.īorn on August 9, 1982, in Lexington, Kentucky, Tyson Gay is the only son of Daisy Gay and Greg Mitchell. Gay is a two-time winner of the Jesse Owens Award, was the 2007 IAAF World Athlete of the Year, won Best Track and Field Athlete for Track & Field News in 2007 and for ESPY Award in 20. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspended him until Jand stripped him of his silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In July 2013, it was announced that Gay had tested positive for a banned substance he subsequently withdrew from consideration for the World Championships in Moscow. His performance of 9.71 seconds to win the 100 m silver medal in the 2009 World Championships is the fastest non-winning time in the history of the 100m.
Days later, he suffered a severe hamstring injury in the 200 m trials and did not win any medals at the Beijing Olympics. champion in the 100 m.Īt the 2008 Olympic Trials, he ran a wind assisted 9.68 seconds in the 100 m. This made him the second man to win all three events at the same World Championships, after Maurice Greene ( Usain Bolt duplicated the feat two years later). Gay has won medals in major international competitions, which includes 3 gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships.
His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him tied for the second fastest athlete ever, along with Yohan Blake. Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 and 200 meters.