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The triple world champion recounts how he was shocked and couldn’t sleep the night Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record at the 2009 World Championships.
American sprint legend Tyson Gay has recounted how he lacked sleep the night when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record, crossing the finish line in 9.58 seconds.
Competing at the 2009 World Championships men’s 100m final, Tyson Gay finished second behind Usain Bolt, clocking 9.71 seconds as Asafa Powell completed the podium in 9.84 seconds.
Speaking on ‘The Powells’ YouTube Channel, Asafa Powell went down memory lane on how after the race, Tyson Gay was shocked and that was one of the few times that he heard the American speak continuously.
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“Tyson Gay doesn’t talk much, that’s just him and we know that that’s him. I remember in 2009 when we returned to get our gear and you were like, ‘Who is he?’. He was talking about Bolt. ‘What’s going on with that man, he just ran 9.5 seconds?’ We couldn’t believe it but we were happy,” Asafa Powell hilariously said.
On his part, Gay explained that Usain Bolt’s world record was a wake-up call for him to run faster too and the whole night, he had a conversation with Lauren Williams on how he could get better and post faster times.
Gay explained that he had suffered a series of injuries that had plagued his season and slowed him down but after seeing what Usain Bolt did, he was sure about pulling off something unique in his upcoming races.
“After that race, I didn’t sleep…you can ask me, I kid you not. Shout out to Lauren Williams right, she probably thinks I’m crazy. That race, I think I went home, no, I went back to the village and I was talking to Lauren and we talked until the next morning,” Tyson Gay said.
“She would listen to me talk passionately about the race and the injuries and how I could get better and run faster. She listened to me the whole time, for hours up until the sun came up. In the morning, she told me to get some sleep.”
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