American 100m record holder Tyson Gay won’t defend his world 200m title after falling to the track less than 50 meters into his morning 200m semifinal after a severe cramp in his left hamstring.
Gay set the American record in the 100m earlier in the Trials, but didn’t make it more than a dozen strides into his race from lane seven before tumbling to the track.
Gay’s agent, Mark Wetmore, reported that Gay had no apparent damage beyond the cramp and spent the afternoon resting at his hotel.
“I’m very disappointed,” Gay said in a release. “Before I went out on the track I felt a little tightness in my hamstring. When I came off the curve the first two steps were fine, and then I felt it, sort of a pull, about 40 meters in.”
Without reigning U.S. and world champion Gay, Rodney Martin and Shawn Crawford staked wins in the afternoon semifinals. Martin won in a time of 20.04, while Crawford blew out the field to take the second heat in 20.21.
Martin’s time was the second-fastest time in the U.S. this year, but was helped out by a wind of just slightly more than two meters per second.
Running into a headwind, Crawford executed his plan of “get out, control and advance” by cruising to a five-meter lead as he came off the Bowerman curve. His winning margin was much the same by the finish.
Walter Dix was third in his heat and fifth overall, but said he couldn’t believe it when Gay went down.
“I was shocked,” Dix said. “I knew that his leg’s hurt ’cause my leg’s been hurting.”
Other notables advancing to today’s 4:25 p.m. final are Wallace Spearmon (third overall) and Xavier Carter (fourth).
Sub-par technique didn’t stop leader David Oliver from running the top 110m hurdles time of all three heats, 13.07, the second-fastest time in the U.S. this year. He won his morning qualifying heat with the fastest time of that round, as well.
“It’s important to get through these two days before you can think of anything in Beijing,” Oliver said.
Oliver was followed in the results by heat winners Anwar Moore in 13.17 and Antwon Hicks in 13.28.
Oregon 110m record holder Eric Mitchum, who finished his Duck career in 2005, was third in his quarterfinal in 13.5, advancing to today’s 5:30 p.m. final with the ninth-fastest time despite what he termed a “completely horrible start” and a technically poor race. He blamed the start on several recalls and false starts to start the race.
“I have a lot of work to do, but I can change it,” Mitchum said. “It’s good to be home.”
Three-time Olympian Allen Johnson didn’t make the afternoon quarterfinals after re-injuring a tendon behind his shin, the same one he injured six weeks ago. The Olympic gold medalist knew he was taking a chance by running on it, but said he had to try.
“I knew this was a possibility,” Johnson said. “As I kept going the pain just got progressively worse and I just couldn’t go anymore.”
Johnson is a seven-time U.S. 110m hurdles champion.
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