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| Photos Courtesy: Victah Sailer@Photorun, Richard Simonsen, adidas, Bob Karetsky |
What’s the difference between Tyson Gay and his competitors? 6 inches.
Calm down – I haven’t taken investigative journalism to another level or anything like that. I have however, been observing Tyson Gay’s approach to his craft since his performance in Beijing.
After Usain Bolt obliterated the 100m record in Beijing, neither Gay – or anyone else for that matter – was ever expected to beat Bolt. Ever. And for good reason. Bolt was the athlete who stepped onto the track with his shoes untied wearing only half of his warm up gear yet still managing to clock up record times despite pulling up a good 30m before the finish line. Bolt is undoubtedly blessed with oodles of natural ability. Freakish ability to be exact.
What Tyson Gay lacks in ‘freakish’ ability, he more than makes up for with one unique quality – raw determination. It’s the kind of determination that spam filters comments like ‘You’ll never beat Bolt’. It’s also the kind of determination that comprehends “impossible is nothing” as a mantra and not a cliché. It’s the kind of determination that lends itself to the impeccable discipline required to come back from a career threatening injury to run the best 100m time for 2010.
On the 6th August, 2010 Tyson Gay silenced the naysayers when he beat Usain Bolt in Stockholm.
Yes, Bolt can run faster and yes, Bolt didn’t appear to be on form, but the long and short of is Gay beat Bolt.
So to clarify my opening statement, the difference between Gay and many of his competitors is the 6 inches between his ears.
incredible the determination, focus and sacrifices these guys make. Dedicating there lives to something that lasts less than 10 seconds
ReplyDeleteOfficially, track and field is still an amateur sport and whilst athletes do receive an appearance fee for each meet, most track and field “stars” are paid a fraction of what an international footballer gets paid. Some of our world cup flops could do worse than follow the example set by Tyson Gay, Jessica Ennis, and Mo Farah!
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