NEW YORK – American sprint star Tyson Gay, the reigning 100-meter World Champion, and Jamaica’s Usain ‘Lighting” Bolt, who last weekend stunned the sports world when he ran a lighting fast 9.76 seconds, the second-fastest 100-meter dash in history, will meet at 100 meters at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 31, organizers announced.
Bolt, the 21-year-old Jamaican who took the 200-meter and 4×100-meter World Championship silver medals behind Gay in Osaka, is the 2002 World Junior Champion at 200 meters and holds the World Junior Record of 19.93 seconds for the distance.
At the Jamaica International Invitational on May 3, Bolt blazed to a 100-meter victory in 9.76 seconds, the second-fastest time in history behind only countryman Asafa Powell’s 9.74, which Powell set late last summer.
Gay, who in 2007 became only the second man in history to win World Championship gold medals at 100 meters, 200 meters and the 4×100-meter relay, last year scorched the Icahn Stadium track here when he won in 9.76 seconds, which would have broken the World Record at the time had it not been for a tailwind (2.2) barely over the legal limit. After his triumph in Osaka, the 25-year-old Gay was named the IAAF Male Athlete of the Year, USOC Sportsman of the Year, Track & Field News Magazine Man of the Year and winner of the Jesse Owens Award.
The Reebok Grand Prix will begin at 5 p.m. on May 31, at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island. On the heels of a sell-out last year, 1,500 bleacher seats have been added on the backstretch to accommodate the expected demand in this Olympic year. The new bleacher seats, along the backstretch with clear views of the finish line, will be available for $15. Grandstand tickets range from $50-$24. Tickets are on sale now by phone at 1-877-TIX-TRAC or on-line at www.ReebokGrandPrix.com.
