Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is an American track and field sprint athlete who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the American record and makes him the second fastest athlete ever. His 200 m time of 19.58 makes him the 5th fastest athlete in that event. In 2008, at the 2008 Olympic Trials, he ran a 100m in 9.68, then the fastest time in history, but was prevented from becoming a world record because it was wind assisted. Days after his spectacular 9.68w, Gay suffered a severe hamstring injury in the 200 m event. The injury persisted and this contributed to his failure to win a single medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Gay has won numerous medals in major international competitions, including a gold medal sweep of the 100 m, 200 m and 4×100 meters relay at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. 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). He is a three-time U.S. champion in the 100 m.
As a participant in the US Anti-Doping Agency's "Project Believe" program, Gay is regularly tested to ensure that his system is clean of performance-enhancing drugs.
His performance of 9.71 seconds to win the 100 m silver medal in the 2009 World Championships is the fastest non-winning time for the event. He's a two-time winner of the Jesse Owens Award, and one-time winner of the IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2007.
Read more about Tyson Gay: Early Life, Amateur Career, Personal Life, Achievements
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