Gay breaks another record as USA goes 1-3 in men’s 200; Phillips takes LJ bronze

OSAKA, Japan - World 100m champion Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, Ark.) broke yet another meet record held by Michael Johnson in an evening that also saw Team USA pick up two bronze medals Thursday at the IAAF World Outdoor Track& Field Championships at Nagai Stadium.

At the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June, Gay set a pair of meet records in the 100 (9.84) and 200 (19.62), the latter previously held by world record holder Michael Johnson. Running into a .8 meters-per-second headwind Thursday night, Gay took down Johnson's meet record at the World Championships, coming from behind to win his second gold medal of the meet.

Running in lane 4, Gay trailed Usain Bolt of Jamaica in lane 5 during the early stages of the race. But Gay used a powerful stretch run to pull away from Bolt, the world junior record holder, running 19.76 to Bolt's 19.91, breaking Michael Johnson's championship record of 19.79 set in 1995. Wallace Spearmon and Rodney Martin (Los Angeles, Calif.) had strong stretch runs of their own, moving up to place third and fourth, respectively, in 20.05 and 20.06.

Dwight Phillips (Snellville, Ga.) took home bronze in the men's long jump after a dramatic competition that saw him finish behind two men setting national records. Phillips popped off a solid first-round jump of 8.30m/27-2.75, which put him firmly in the lead after one round - only Jamaica's James Beckford had gone beyond 8 meters (8.09m/26-6.5). In the second round, 2006 World Cup and World Athletics Final champion Irving Saladino of Panama responded by matching Phillips' mark, jumping 8.30m. Saladino then surpassed Phillips in the third round with a jump of 8.46m/27-9.25, while Phillips scratched on his second, third jumps and fifth jumps, and 8.30 remained his best mark.

In the final round, European Indoor champion Andrew Howe of Italy unleashed a national-record jump of 8.47m/27-9.5 to vault into first by just 1cm, moving Saladino to second and Phillips to third. But Saladino came back on the very last jump of the competition with the winning mark of 8.57m/28-1.5, also a national record. Miguel Pate (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) was 10^th with 7.94m/26-0.75, and Trevell Quinley (Sacramento, Calif.) fouled on his first three attempts and had no mark.

2007 Visa Champion and world leader Tiffany Williams (Columbia, S.C.) ran a bold race but fell short in the women's 400m hurdles final. Running out of the disadvantageous lane 9, Williams went out fast, leading the field over the first five hurdles before defending champion and world record holder Yuliya Pechenkina of Russia and Jana Rawlinson of Australia made their move. Coming down the final stretch, it was a two-woman race between Rawlinson and Pechenkina, with third place up for grabs. Williams was in third over the final hurdle, but her brisk early pace took its toll and she faded to seventh in 54.63. Rawlinson took the gold in 53.31, with Pechenkina second in 53.50 and Anna Jesien of Poland third in 54.92.

Future finals packed with Americans

In qualifying action, Americans once again advanced multiple athletes to several finals.

Team USA uniforms will fill half the lanes in Friday's women's 200m final. Coming off the curve strong, defending gold medalist Allyson Felix (Santa Clarita, Calif.) looked easy in winning Thursday's first semifinal, running 22.21 to Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell's 22.44. 2003 World Outdoor silver medalist Torri Edwards (Corona, Calif.) was third in 22.51 to advance as well. Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas) won Heat 2 in 22.50, with LaShaunte'a Moore (Akron, Ohio) fourth in 22.73 to advance.

Team USA's distance runners continued to achieve more "firsts," with three Americans qualifying for the men's 5,000m final for the first time in World Championships history. Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) showed no fatigue from his gold-medal performance in Wednesday night's 1,500m final, easily advancing by placing third in Heat 1 of the 5 km semifinals in 13:46.57. In Heat 2, Matt Tegenkamp was third in 13:35.05 to automatically qualify, and Adam Goucher made in on time, placing eighth in 13:41.65.

A pair of Americans will be in Friday night's final of the men's 110m hurdles. Having arrived in Osaka Tuesday night as a last-minute replacement, David Payne (Cincinnati, Ohio) continued to amaze. The fourth-place finisher at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships won the first of three men's 110m hurdles semifinals in 13.19, earning a prime lane in Friday's final. Leading from the gun, national champion Terrence Trammell easily won Heat 2 in 13.23. David Oliver (Orlando, Fla.) was fourth in Heat 3 in 13.42 and did not make the final.

USA indoor champion Nick Symmonds (Springfield, Ore.) moved to Friday's semifinal of the men's 800 meters by placing second in Heat 1 of the first round in 1:46.16. Four-time USA Outdoor champion Khadevis Robinson (Santa Monica, Calif.) was fourth in Heat 4 in 1:45.78 and advanced on time; Duane Solomon (Los Angeles, Calif.) was seventh in Heat 6 (1:48.95) and did not advance.

In men's pole vault qualifying, 2007 world leader Brad Walker (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) will seek to improve on his silver-medal finish from 2005, advancing to the final by clearing 5.70m/18-8.5. American record holder Jeff Hartwig (Jonesboro, Ark.) and Jacob Pauli (Cedar Falls, Iowa) both cleared 5.55m/18-2.5 and did not qualify.

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Team USA Medal Table

Gold (6)

Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, Ark.), M100m, 9.85

Tyson Gay (Fayetteville, Ark.), M200m, 19.76 CR

Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.), M1,500m, 3:34.77

Kerron Clement (Gainesville, Fla.), M400H, 47.61

Reese Hoffa (Athens, Ga.), MSP, 22.04m/72-3.75

Michelle Perry (Santa Clarita, Calif.), W100H, 12.46

Silver (2)

Adam Nelson (Charlottesville, Va.), MSP, 21.61m/70-10.75

Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.), W100m, 11.01

Bronze (5)

Wallace Spearmon (Fayetteville, Ark.), M200m, 20.05

Dwight Phillips (Snellville, Ga.), MLJ, 8.30m/27-2.75

Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, La.), MTJ, 17.33m/56-10.75

Carmelita Jeter (Long Beach, Calif.), W100, 11.02

Kara Goucher (Portland, Ore), W10,000m, 32:02.05

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For complete results, quotes and Team USA reports, visit www.usatf.org

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