Tyson Gay hailed as great champion by IAAF chief

Aug 31, 2007, 14:58 GMT

Osaka, Japan - World athletics supremo Lamine Diack on Friday hailed double sprint world champion Tyson Gay as a great champion and a likely star at next year's Olympics.

'Tyson is a great champion. His behaviour after his wins show that he can be a role model in our sport. He can be one of the stars at the Beijing Olympics,' the IAAF president Diack told a news conference.

Gay won the 100m on Sunday in 9.84 seconds and the 200m Thursday in 19.76, the combined time of 29.60 seconds being the best a double sprint winner has ever achieved on the global stage.

Maurice Greene took 29.70 seconds for his double in 1999 and Justin Gatlin 29.92 in 2005.

Unlike for instance Greene, Gay celebrated his titles in relative modesty.

Gay, who aims for a third title as part of the US sprint relay Saturday, said he felt honoured being compared with stars such as Greene, Michael Johnson and others.

'It hasn't sunk in quite yet. I am thankful for everyone looking at me as one of the great next sprinters,' he said.

Gay said he needed to rest for a week to recharge his batteries before planning some more races, mainly in the 100m because the 200 'is so long' as he is exhausted after eight races so far in Osaka.

'I want to run some good times to get into next year with a positive mind,' he said.