Beating sister is no longer Gay's motivation

By Gene Cherry

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - As a youngster, Tyson Gay never thought about becoming an Olympic champion. Beating his sister in a race was a big enough challenge.

Now the soft-spoken Kentuckian finds himself in the biggest race of the Beijing Games, a 100 metres likely to feature the fastest men of all time - Gay, world record holder Usain Bolt and fellow Jamaican and former holder Asafa Powell.

"Getting a gold medal is my biggest motivation," Gay told reporters after his stunning but wind-assisted run of 9.68 seconds to win the 100 metres at the U.S. Olympic trials.

The time was the fastest run by a man under any conditions and Gay, who had clocked a national record 9.77 in the U.S. trials quarter-finals, said he wanted more.

"I want to save the best for last," said the American who turns 26 a day after the Games open in Beijing. "My expectations are huge going into the Olympics."

But they were lowered after an unexpected development five days later. Heading into the opening curve of the U.S. 200 metres quarter-finals Gay strained a muscle in his left hamstring and tumbled to the track.

Gone were the dreams of an Olympic sprint double, evaporated were the hopes of repeating a world championship triple he gathered a year ago in Osaka.

With Powell also hurt in July, Bolt became the favourite. But Gay warned against counting him out in Beijing.