Has Tyson got Asafa’s number? By Len Johnson

Looking at Tyson Gay running down Asafa Powell in last weekend’s Gateshead Diamond League 100 metres, I couldn’t help thinking of Cathy Freeman and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.

Gay is developing an uncanny knack of beating Powell in the last 20 metres of their races over 100, and the manner in which he does it must feed back into the psychological approach of both men. Powell must be thinking: “How far in front do I have to be to hold Tyson off?”; while Gay must feel: “No matter how far behind Asafa I am, I’ve always got a chance.”

As I said, it puts me in mind of Freeman and Gainsford-Taylor and some of their epic clashes over 200 metres in Australia during the 1990s. Gainsford-Taylor generally had the upper hand, and invariably led with her sprinter’s start and superior bend running. She was one of the best bend runners in the world.

Yet every now and then, Freeman would come out of the ground to beat her great rival. It seemed there was a zone around Gainsford-Taylor usually about two or three metres, and if Freeman could get inside that zone, she could win. It was like a magic box, from Freeman’s perspective anyway. Once she put a foot inside that box, you could almost see the self-belief in her face.

What would inevitably follow, was that Freeman would come out of the ground to grab Gainsford-Taylor and win. One such race was in the 1999-2000 Australian championships. It was the first meeting conducted in the Olympic stadium, a potent additional motivation for Freeman.

The 200 final was on the last day of the championships. Gainsford-Taylor had already won the 100; Freeman had run 50.00 _ her second-fastest ever in Australia up to that point _ to beat Ana Guevara of Mexico in the 400.

Now it came down to the 200 final. It was a classic meeting of the two. Gainsford-Taylor held the advantage coming into the straight, but Freeman was inside the magic box. With 20 metres to go, it still looked as if Gainsford-Taylor would win, but Freeman jumped out of the ground to make up two metres in the last few strides and win _ 22.78 to 22.80.

Freeman and Gainsford-Taylor swapped wins throughout their career, but Gay has a worrying habit (from Powell’s point of view, at least) of beating Powell, leading one to ask: has Tyson got Asafa’s number.

It wasn’t always so. In 2006, Powell’s great year, he never lost to Gay, beating him on half-a-dozen or so occasions. But the tide turned with Gay’s win over Powell in the final of the 2007 world championships and, unless I’m forgetting one, I think Powell has beaten Gay only once in eight meeting since.

Still, a they came to Gateshead, Powell was the dominant force in the 100 this year. Both Bolt and Gay had already had injury down-time. Powell had the fastest legal time in the world for the year (equalled by Bolt a few days earlier in Lausanne) and several wind-aided 9.7-second runs.

Yet, in cool conditions and into a 1.7 metres per second headwind, Gay ran him down, 9.94 to 9.96.

“Asafa’s one of my favourite competitors and I managed to get him today,” Gay said after the race. “I really had to stretch to get to the finish line and he didn’t see me coming.”

Powell’s take was: “I think I forgot it was Tyson Gay out there. In the last 20-30 metres I should have run differently. But he’s a great sprinter and I gave him a chance. I didn’t see him coming.”

That’s the thing. Gay is always coming at Powell. To some extent this is style, Powell has a great first 60-70, Gay is second-to-none as a closer. Powell is tall and upright and thus does not put himself in a physical position for more than a token ‘throw’ at the line. Gay is good on ‘the lean to the line’.

It was much the same with Freeman and Gainsford-Taylor. The latter would drive to the line tall and strong, but with most of her energy expended getting to, around and off the bend. Freeman was at her best over the final 50 metres anyway.

Powell compounds his difficulty with Gay by his seemingly deep-seated habit of not running through the line. Against most sprinters, it doesn’t matter so much. Head-to-head against Gay, it leaves the door ajar. And that’s all Tyson needs.

Powell is due to clash with Bolt over 100 in the Paris Diamond League as I write. Perhaps he had half a mind on this race when he went to the line in Gateshead and Gay genuinely did catch him unawares this time. In any case, Powell’s performance against Bolt takes on added significance. He needs a good one to maintain his early-season momentum.