World champion Tyson Gay's dream of an Olympics double ended in pain when he crashed out of the US 200 meters quarterfinals on Saturday. Already qualified for Beijing in the 100 meters, Gay had run only 12 strides, about 40 meters, of the 200 meters when he grabbed at his left hamstring and tumbled to track. He lay there for several minutes before he was taken away from the facility in a cart. “‘I am very disappointed',” Gay's agent Mark Wetmore said the 25-year-old sprinter told him. “It appears to be a severe cramp,” Wetmore told USA Track & Field officials. “He had felt a little tightness in warm-ups. There is no other apparent damage.” The injury was a major blow to the US hopes in Beijing since under the strict qualifying procedure of the trials only the top three finishers make the Olympic team regardless of circumstances. The stunning development was reminiscent of the 2000 US Olympic trials where both 200 meters world record holder Michael Johnson and then Maurice Greene crashed out of the 200 meters final with injuries. Both the athletes missed the Sydney Games in the 200 meters, but won gold in their first-choice events. Gay had won the 100 meters last Sunday in a wind-assisted time of 9.68 seconds, the fastest time ever run under any conditions. He had set the national record of 9.77 seconds the previous day. He then cruised through the opening round of 200 metres on Friday with no problems. The US also lost 1996 Olympic 110-meters hurdles champion Allen Johnson to injury on a costly day. The 37-year-old Johnson cleared only four hurdles in the opening round before succumbing to a season-ending tendon injury. – Reuters (Friday action on Page 18) __
