ESPN Track and Field

Updated: June 28, 2008, 11:32 PM ET

Gay's scary moment just reminder of how fickle trials can be

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By Jim Caple
ESPN.com
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EUGENE, Ore. -- Tyson Gay ran an American record 9.77 in the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials Saturday. And if the International Olympic Committee would only add the 70-meter dash to the Olympics, Gay just might set the world record in that event.

Gay broke the record in a quarterfinal heat, but the reigning world champion nearly didn't reach the quarters because of his finish in an earlier heat. Gay had a sizable lead in his first heat of the day with about 30 meters left in the race. Wanting to save himself for the later heat, he eased up ... a little too much and a little too early.

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AP Photo/Eric RisbergAfter easing up too early in his first 100-meter heat, Tyson Gay, right, had to speed up at the end to qualify for the quarters.

Many of his competitors passed him and he had to speed back up to finish fourth by two-thousandths of a second, automatically qualifying for the quarterfinals.

It was a bit like LaDainian Tomlinson breaking loose, racing untouched through an open field toward the end zone and then spiking the ball at the 10-yard line. Or Randy Johnson pulling off his jersey and putting ice on his left arm with a no-hitter intact in the eighth inning of a playoff game. Or Tiger Woods shooting a 59 for the first 15 holes and then signing his card and heading to the clubhouse.

Gay said he misjudged where the finish line was in the first heat, thinking it was "about 10 meters short of where it was." Yes, it's funny how meet officials keep refusing to place the finish line to the 100-meter dash 90 meters from the start.

You could hear the murmur rushing through the packed Hayward Field stands as everyone looked at the scoreboard to see whether Gay had recovered enough to qualify for the next heat. The top four sprinters from each heat advance to the next round, along with the runners with the next eight best times. As it turned out, even if had he finished fifth in the heat, Gay's time of 10.14 would have been good enough to advance to the quarterfinal heat.

Not that he knew it when he crossed the line.

"After the first round, I was scared," Gay said after the quarterfinal heat. "I almost started crying as soon as I crossed the line because I thought I didn't make it. I was pretty nervous, but this round, I ran through the line. I eased up a little bit. ... I wasn't trying to exert too much energy."

Spurred on by the near disaster, Gay broke Maurice Greene's American record by two-hundredths of a second and his own personal best by eight-hundredths, even though he still eased up at the end. Gay said breaking a record wasn't his goal in the heat, but he did want to compensate for his performance in the earlier heat.

"I didn't want to be on ESPN's most boneheaded plays," he said.

Still, that earlier heat was a vivid reminder of the nature of the trials. Athletes may have the best times in the world and so many gold medals they have to show up at the airport four hours early to get through security, but if they don't perform at their best here, they aren't going anywhere (see: Dan O'Brien, 1992).

No wonder then that Lauryn Williams said she got little sleep Friday night before the women's 100 final, tossing and turning and waking from strange anxiety dreams, in which friends sent her text messages consoling her after a loss, saying "It's OK."

Those dreams were nearly premonitions for the actual final, a race that proved so close, the top five runners were separated by a mere eight-hundredths of a second. Waiting for the official times, Williams stared at the scoreboard and prayed, "Please let me be on the team. Please let me be on the team."

She did, finishing third behind Muna Lee (10.85) and Torri Edwards (10.90) and just ahead of Marshevet Hooker. "We're going to Beijing!" Williams shouted after the race, while Hooker stood answering questions a few feet away after missing the Olympic team by just three-hundredths of a second.

"I'm glad I finished fourth, so I'm the alternate," Hooker said. "I'll be ready if they need me."

Reese Hoffa, Adam Nelson and Christian Cantwell all qualified for the U.S. team in the shot put, with Hoffa winning the trials and saying that an American sweep is possible in Beijing.

"I just hope we don't mess up," Hoffa said. "We've been talking about a sweep for a long time and we've always been capable, but then something always happens. But if we can all get through the qualifying, it's definitely possible."

Hyleas Fountain, Jacquelyn Johnson and Diana Pickler qualified for the heptathlon team.

The final in the men's 100 is Sunday. Stay tuned to see whether the finish line remains 100 meters from the start.

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His Web site is at jimcaple.net.