NEW YORK – For so long, pain has followed Tyson Gay around the track.
If it wasn’t his hamstring giving him grief in a workout, it was his surgically repaired hip or groin. He’s almost grown accustomed to the ever-present aches that have haunted him over his career, even come to expect them at certain points in his training routine.
So the other day when the American 100-meter record holder opened up around a curve in Clermont, Florida, he nearly stopped mid-stride as he felt, well, nothing.
No twinge in his hip. No tweak in his groin. No tightness in his hamstring.
That hasn’t happened in years.
“Things are finally going in a good direction,” Gay said in a telephone interview.
At 30 and in the twilight of his career, Gay is training wiser to give his body more of a break. He intends to be around — and healthy — for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, hoping to capture that elusive individual Olympic sprint medal and maybe, just maybe, do what no one has been able to do lately — close the gap on Usain Bolt.
That’s a tough assignment, though. The Olympics have long been Bolt’s playground, where he performs and entertains at such a high level.
There was a time — not all that long ago, either — when Gay was the top sprinter on the planet, winning gold in the 100 and 200 at the 2007 world championships in Osaka. But that was before his rash of injuries and just a step ahead of Bolt’s rise to prominence.
“I’ve been trying to catch him for a while,” Gay said. “I have to stay focused on me and run my race the best I can. Hopefully, it comes together at the right time, because all of his races have been coming together at the right time. That’s what it’s all about.”
Gay knows that many will be writing him off long before Rio rolls around. After all, he will be at an age when most sprinters contemplate retirement, not ramping up. There’s also a deep pipeline of U.S. sprinters coming up through the ranks, all wanting to take Gay’s place.
That’s fine to dismiss him. The quiet and humble Gay — rare traits for a sprinter — hardly minds, because he believes he still has more in him.
“Some of my best times have always come after me being hurt,” said Gay, who plans to ease into competition this season with a few local races in Florida. “I’m looking forward to proving myself.”
When healthy, Gay can keep up with any sprinter who steps into the blocks. After all, he’s the second-fastest man in history, thanks to a 9.69 in the 100 at a 2009 meet in Shanghai (Bolt’s record is 9.58 and Yohan Blake tied Gay’s mark last season).
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