FASTEST. MEN. EVER.

Getty Images

Tyson Gay will be a part of the filthiest 100-meter dash in history. And if you know Mag.com, you know: filth = greatness.

As Luke Cyphers writes regarding the 100-meter showdown that Beijing might provide, "As great as the 400-meter duel between Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt promises to be, it has nothing on the 100. When Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell plus American Tyson Gay (hamstring permitting) flock to the Bird's Nest stadium on the first day of track and field Aug. 15, you will believe a man can fly."

We tend to agree.

You take the guy who broke the world record in the 100-meters eariler this year in Bolt, match him against Powell, who is brilliant, and add Gay, who ran a 9.68 with a little wind at his back and you have something that could become epic. If they can slog their way through the heavy Beijing smog, you have a race where there exists the potential that you could break a world record … and lose. Someone could break it a hundredth of a second faster.

To read all about it, check out the full piece from the current issue of ESPN the Magazine, right here.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine