6/29/08

EUGENE, Ore -- On Saturday morning, no less an authority on track and field than Michael Johnson conceded the future of the 100- and 200-meter races to 21-year-old Jamaican Usain Bolt. There is evidence to support Johnson's theory.

Bolt, a world-class 200-meter runner since he was a teenager, stunned the track and field world this spring by dropping down to the more glamorous 100 meters and dropping a world record 9.72 seconds on reigning world champion Tyson Gay at the Reebok Track Classic in New York City on May 31. It was, indeed, a stunning moment. The six-foot-five Bolt beat Gay like he was a child. And he beat the rest of a good international field event worse. Gay ran a very fast 9.85 seconds and looked like he was running a different race from Bolt.