Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

CARSON, California:

AMERICAN TYSON Gay, the World Championships double sprint champion, believes Usain Bolt's sizzling 9.76 run of two weeks ago in Kingston could make things a little easier for him.

Gay said the fact that Bolt had joined the 9.7 band meant it was no more a two-man race between himself and world record holder Asafa Powell.

"It feels good because it's actually relief (to me) and takes a little bit of pressure off me (as well)," Gay told journalists at the Adidas Classic press conference at the Home Depot Centre in Carson on Thursday.

Powell worried?

He said after thinking about it, his main threat, Powell, would be doubly worried.

"Asafa Powell now has to worry about Usain Bolt running the 100m, so I think that may add a little bit of pressure on him more than me. He (Bolt) is no longer a 200m/400m runner," Gay said.

However, Gay said Bolt would have to run consistently fast of the distance from now on.

"He has to answer this for the rest of his career: is he going to break the record? So the pressure is on him. Are you going to break Asafa's record? And, for Asafa, is he (Bolt) going to break your record?

"Now, he (Powell) has just as much competition in his country as I am going to have in my country ... so I think it takes a little bit of pressure off me and puts pressure on both of them."

Asked if Bolt's remarkable 9.76 was a one-off occurrence or if he expects a repeat, Gay replied: "I would hope so. When I ran my first 9.8 seconds, I didn't believe it. I ran it, I felt comfortable and I felt relaxed. People were saying 'maybe something happened with the clock and I had to do it again.

"I ran 9.97 in my next race and I was like, 'It's possible'. When I ran 9.8 again, that's when I knew that it was legit. I'm the type of person who believes you have to do it again," he said.

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