WDL Classics Monaco 2010: Gay enters the Fray

Live from the archive every single Sunday on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel, the WDL Classics series revisits historical Diamond League meetings with a re-live stream of the full two-hour TV broadcast. This week: Tyson Gay enters the fray in the race for the 2010 title.

Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell’s rivalry may have dominated the first half of the first Diamond League season in 2010, but when push came to shove, it was the USA’s Tyson Gay who took home the Diamond Trophy in the 100m.

Gay’s triumph at the final in Brussels marked a fantastic late-season charge which saw him claim three successive wins in the shorter distance and steal the glory from his Jamaican rivals.

Yet the journey began in the 200m in Monaco in late July, when the American notched up his first Diamond League win and threw down the gauntlet to Bolt and Powell with a stunning performance at the Stade Louis II.

Gay clocked a meeting record of 19.78 at Herculis, holding off a late challenge from Yohan Blake. And though it was a milestone win for the American, he was already setting his sights on improvement, even as he crossed the finish line.

“I ran too wide in the corner, I slipped a bit. I wanted to run faster but it’s okay,” the 2007 world champion told reporters.

Blake’s 19.78 finish in second made him the second-fastest Jamaican man behind Bolt in the 200m, while his compatriot Jermaine Gonzales streaked to a national record of 44.40 in the men’s 400m, crowning a dramatic day in the sprints.

Other standout performances included world leads from the USA’s Dwight Phillips in the long jump and Cuba’s Yargelis Savigne in the women’s triple jump.

You can rewatch the 2010 Monaco meeting in full on the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel below.