Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt set for 100m at Reebok Grand PrixNEW YORK, NY (May 8, 2008) - American sprint star
Tyson Gay, the reigning 100-meter World
Champion, and Jamaica's Usain Bolt, who last
weekend stunned the sports world when he ran the
second-fastest 100-meter dash in history, will meet at 100
meters at the Reebok Grand Prix on May 31,organizers
announced today.
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.
Gay, who in 2007 became only the second man in history to
win World Championship gold medals at 100
meters, 200 meters and the 4x100-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.
Bolt, the 21-year-old Jamaican who took the 200-meter and
4x100-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.
The Reebok Grand Prix, in its fourth year, will begin at 5
p.m. on May 31, at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. 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.