Tyson Gay and Liu Xiang face opposition in gold mission

By John Bagratuni Jul 28, 2008, 19:58 GMT

Hamburg - Tyson Gay aims to continue a proud United States sprint tradition against stiff Jamaican opposition while 110 metres hurdles gold from Liu Xiang is no foregone conclusion at the Beijing Games.

Gay has experience on his side as the world champion in the blue- riband 100 metres - and also ran the fastest time ever recorded over the distance, a wind-assisted 9.68 at the US trials in June.

But Jamaican Usain Bolt has burst onto the scene as the world record holder with a 9.72-second run on May 31. Compatriot Asafa Powell is the previous record holder with 9.74 seconds.

Gay's legal best stands at 9.77 seconds which makes the August 16 final hard to predict for the audience in the National Stadium and the billion-strong expected to watch via television.

A hamstring injury denied Gay a place in the 200m as well but the US star said he has enough time to cure it before the Beijing races.

'Getting a gold medal is my biggest motivation...My expectations are huge going into the Olympics,' Gay said after the 100m win at the trials.

Gay proved with a sprint double at the 2007 worlds that he is a championship runner, but will also have to live with the fact that US sprinting has been tainted by doping in the past.

Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones have been disgraced and the 100m gold medallist from 2004, Justin Gatlin, is also suspended.

Once the sprint is out of the way on the opening weekend of athletics action, the hurdles will be set up on the home straight for Liu Xiang, one of the biggest heroes for hosts China.

But the 2004 gold medallist and 2007 world champion faces a big rival in Cuba's Dayron Robles, who bettered Liu's world record by one hundredth to 12.87 seconds on June 12 and ran 12.88 on July 18.

Liu and Gay are among very few established stars in the showcase sport of athletics which is undergoing a generation change.

Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva is to provide the glamour factor in the National Stadium and Ethiopian sensation Tirunesh Dibaba to spearhead a proud African tradition in distance running.

Jeremy Wariner must overcome a growing threat from fellow-American LaShawn Merritt in the 400m, Croatia's Blanka Vlasic wants to cement her high-jump superiority while Sweden's Carolina Kluft has had enough of the heptathlon and only does long jump.

Briton Paula Radcliffe will have to defy possible pollution as well as recovering from a hairline leg fracture in time to get gold at last in the women's marathon while Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie will not run the men's event because he considers the Beijing air 'suicidal.'