Bolt eager for showdown with Gay

Kingston, Jamaica – World 100 and 200m World record holder Usain Bolt said he was not surprised with Tyson Gay’s impressive 19.58sec clocking in his first 200m race of the year, and said he was eagerly looking forward to a showdown with the American.

At last Saturday’s Reebok Grand Prix in New York City, Gay stunned the world with an electrifying 19.58 victory over the half lap, the third fastest performance ever. Only Bolt’s 19.30 and Michael Johnson’s 19.32, both World records, are faster.

“I am not surprised because Tyson Gay is a very determined competitor," said Bolt, who blazed to 9.69 and 19.30 World record victories at last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. "He showed that he is one of the best athletes in the world, so I am not shocked in any way."

“Its going to be an interesting season and Tyson Gay kicked it off well.”

“I am looking forward to go out there and do my best as always,” Bolt said, adding that a clash with Gay, the reigning 100m and 200m World champion, prior to the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Berlin Germany (15 to 23 August) would be ideal for his preparation.

“I definitely would want to meet Tyson before the World Champs to see where I am at (in my preparation). I am looking forward to that showdown,” said Bolt, who added a third World record when he helped Jamaica to victory in the men’s 4×100m Relay in 37.10.

Bolt, however, admitted it’s going to be harder this year to duplicate his achievement and that what he accomplished in Beijing is now history.

“It's always going to be harder because you start the season from square one again. I may not be in 19.3 shape, so I have to go out there and run again to try and do my best to get back into that shape,” explained Bolt.

“I have a lot of work to do and I am still working hard,” he said, while predicting, “It’s going to be a battle with Tyson Gay, because he is not a person to give up.”

Meanwhile, Bolt ruled out chasing three individual gold medals at the 2012 Olympics in London.

"I never actually said that I could run three events, because that's a lot of load," Bolt said, speaking with journalists at the Racers Track Club launch on Tuesday in Kingston. "I don't think that I could do that at one track meet, so somebody got it wrong along the line. I may be doing 100/200, or 200/400, but not all three."

Racers members include Bolt, fellow Jamaicans Marvin Anderson and Yohan Blake, and Emmanuel Calendar of Trinidad & Tobago.

Anthony Foster for the IAAF