Resting, relaxing is the way to go for Gay

American Sprinter Tyson Gay is in Germany, resting, relaxing and getting ready for his next race — almost exactly like he planned before getting injured at the US Olympic trials.

Gay sprained a muscle in the back of his left leg in a 200-meter qualifying race, a tumble that forced him to be carted off the track and ended his chances of winning two individual gold medals in Beijing.

“He’s fine,” coach, Jon Drummond, said on Tuesday. “He’s walking normal. There’s nothing to really be overly concerned about. I feel there’s no reason why he won’t be 100 percent at the Games.” Gay will run in the 100 and the 400-meter relay in Beijing. Before he was hurt, Gay already had qualified for the 100, running a wind-aided time of 9.68 seconds, the fastest ever. He also set the American record of 9.77 in a quarterfinal. But as the reigning world champion in the 100 and 200, he was aiming to sweep sprinting’s glory events at the Olympics.

Now, he’s focused on his rehab.

Drummond said Gay still plans to race in London on July 25. The only change is he’s already in Europe getting acclimated to the time change and working with doctors on his rehabilitation. Gay headed overseas early to get in four extra days of “active recovery” as opposed to the lounging-around rest he would have needed had he run two more gruelling heats in the 200.

“That’s the part I’m trying to get out there. It didn’t matter if he’d fallen or not. He was going to get 10 days of active recovery anyway,” Drummond said. “So we’ve just extended the 10 days to 14. The muscle is 100 percent by then, and everything else is back to business. We’re taking every necessary precaution, treating it like it is something serious, because the body needs that. You’ve got to pamper it sometimes. I’ve told him to go home and get your feet up, get the rubdowns.”

Bolt to run at Crystal Palace

London: Usain Bolt will run the 200 meters at next week's London Grand Prix in what is likely to be the Jamaican sprinter's last race before the Olympics.

Bolt, the 100-metre world record holder, is concentrating on the longer sprint and promises “something very special” in the July 26 race at Crystal Palace.

He won't be facing sprint rivals Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell, who will be running the 100 in London on July 25.