One of those people who was absolutely great but overshadowed by someone even greater.

Imagine running a 9.71 and coming 2nd Usain Bolt was a monster

Yea man, his main negatives are not always being injured around the Olympics and having his prime the same time as Bolt. But don't get it twisted, Tyson Gay is a absolute legend

Tyson was someone I enjoyed watching for the sprints.

I preferred the Bolt v Tyson rivalry to the Bolt v Gatlin rivalry, shame we only got to see it once in 09

Young Spearmon was OP

Tyson Gay is just unfortunate to be in the same era of Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt in greatest 100m and 200m races. Otherwise, he is such a highly gifted athlete.

Tyson, Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asaph Powell- all ran excellent

Tyson Gay was the man! So much heart and raw talent!

So often forgotten about in this generation. It’s a shame he stood in Bolt’s shadow. But he was still able to do things Bolt never did with his 400m records and such.

Tyson was the Michael Johnson of the 100m. He had the best running style. It was a flawless, ultra stiff upright style that enabled him to reach incredible speeds. But Blake is #2 after Bolt.

Best physique in sprinting

Yohan Blake for me is 2nd after bolt. They have equal 100m times at 9.69 but Blakes was into a 0.1 m/s headwind where as Gays was with a 2.0 m/s tailwind (the maximum legally allowed). Correcting for wind and altitude their fastest 100m times would be 9.70 for Blake and 9.78 for Gay But if you're still not convinced Blake also ran a 19.26 second 200m run and that was with a terrible terrible start. I'd argue Blakes 19.26 is arguably as impressive as Bolts 19.19 and among the top 3 most impressive feats in track sprinting history. Gays best for the 200m is 19.58

You Are "SPOT ON" In Your Assessment Sir 👌🏿!!

He may not have been the most naturally gifted among the top tier sprinters but he pushed his body to the brink to achieve what he did

That Olympic 100m is the only medal missing. other than that, he is one of the greatest 100m sprinters and still holds the American record. I think he ran a sub-45 in the 400m as well.

Tyson ran like there was a tornado chasing him, it was beautiful to watch. ❤️

Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, and Yohan Blake were renowned 100m sprinters in their own right, but Bolt's extraordinary dominance made them appear ordinary in comparison. Yohan Blake, with his recurring injury problems, proved to be the most disappointing among them. He was the only athlete who had the potential to challenge Bolt's record.

You're asking who the 2nd "best" 100m sprinter is. If you're talking strictly about who had the 2nd fastest compilation of times, then yes, it's probably Gay, Blake, or Powell, but that's a bit unfair to sprinters of earlier eras, as obviously, sprinters get faster with time. If you're talking about who was simply the all around 2nd best 100m sprinter of all time, I've got to say Carl Lewis. He has two Olympic Golds in the event, 3 World Championships (and this was back when they were only held every 4 years, so he was world champ from 1983 to 1991), he's a former 3 time world record holder in the event, the first man to run in the 9.8s, and he anchored NUMEROUS Olympic Champion and World Champion 4x100 relay teams, as well as world record holding teams. It's kind of hard to argue with those stats. Yes, his times weren't as fast as Gay, Blake, or Powell, but as I said, he's from an earlier era, so that's a bit of an unfair criteria to judge by. The fact is, no 100m sprinter in history other than Bolt can even come close to matching Carl's achievements in the event. Very good video, though. Thank you.🙂

Great points made. 19.26s is no joke. 9.69 tougher conditions. Head to head i think Blake always won. 2nd best goes to Blake for me.

I have said over and over again, if it wasn't for Bolt, Tyson would be considered the greatest sprinter. This is a great take...

Top 3 thanks for the great runs Tyson enjoyed watching you !

How good was Tyson Gay? Bloody good, mate! Bloody good!

Nice analysis.

Love this!

bolt,blake,gay, powell, gatlin was the best generation of sprinters in history

So sad that he never earned an Olympic medal

for 100m I would say it’s gonna be tyson, but overall Im giving it to blake

Love this

really professional way to deal with numbers. As a mathematician, I like that ;)

Best American sprinter ever! These new crop of sprinters from the US could learn a lot from him.

It's really astounding how few times sprinters hit their peak speed. Just a few races in a career.

Tyson was my favorite American 100 meters sprinter behind Michael green

Tyson Gay was never underrated, he was underappreciated

Powell and Gay are probably the saddest fastest sprinters if that make sense. Powell never got an individual title, and Gay never got an Olympic medal.

Sprint Speed this was awesome, and I totally agree!💯

Definitely doesn't get mentioned enough. Fastest american ever and was a beast only to be stopped by injuries. My guy

2010 Carter, 2008 Powell, 2012 Blake, 2009 Bolt vs 2019 Coleman, 2015 Gatlin, 2009 Gay, 2022 Lyles Who would win in a 4x1 relay US vs JAM?

He just had bad timing/luck in his career. Getting hurt in 2008, running very well in 2010 with no major championships and getting hurt in 2011, ruining another chance at worlds. Positive test in 2013 when he was running super well, and then just trying to stay healthy & consistent during his comeback years (2014-16). Definitely deserved more global medals, shame he doesn't have an Olympic medal.

Still my alltime favorite sprinter because of his 100% effort. He ran hard

Gay’s 9.69 he had one of the worst starts I’ve seen in a professional 100m race and still clocked that #. Gay > Blake

WasTyson's top speed recorded in his 9.69 run which had the 2m/s wind? If so it's not really fair to compare it to Blake's, as surely wind would help with top speed.

I agree.

Tyson was top 5 in his generation. But I think Justin gatlin is the second best 100m he’s has the times the medals and longevity.

He was the 2nd best after bolt. 9.69 he would have been a legend in any other, unfortunately he was competing in the Bolt era.

If not for Bolt and Blake, Tyson Gay would be the 100m and 200m world record holder and the faster man ever! He definitely deserves to be considered the 2nd fastest in history.

Just like how everytime they spoke about Flo-Jo but if I say Evelyn Ashford nobody probably don't know who that person is. She was the world record holder before Flo -Jo bettered it.

Bolt is and wil forever be the Goat but Tyson is my favourite

Tyson Gay was the best sprinter behind bolt- he also ran 9.69. injuries was the only thing that hampered Gay. Blake is faster too, but got injured as well. Hopefully he can come back to his former form and shock these new sprinter

I start this year am strong lean and tall 6 ft 11 inches will demolish Bolt within 2 years watch this space am also a good story teller lol

I concur

Tyson was an INSANE talent and I’m upset he didn’t have more olympic medals. Next to Bolt, I think Gay was the greatest sprinter ever!

What I think is factual. Both Tyson Gay and Yohan Blake are the 2nd fastest men alive. Not Tyson gay only. There is a tie between the 2. N that will remain until someone else runs 9.68 or below

Agree Gay was probably the 2nd greatest of that great generation but this video doesn't consider anybody outside that last era though. Most improvement in sprinting since the 80s really has been about training methods, nutrition, track surfaces and equipment rather than genuine speed increases of the species. So I don't think you can discount similarly elite guys from the past just because their PB might be one tenth of a second slower - they had the same if not more pure speed. Gay's outstanding times and improvement was overshadowed by the superfreak Bolt, but I wouldn't say he is the 2nd greatest 100m sprinter ever. Carl Lewis won multiple global finals including back-to-back Olympics and held WRs as well as winning 200m and long jump, and Maurice Greene was also unreal in his prime. If Greene didn't pull his hamstring 15m from the line at the Edmonton world champs in 2001 his splits suggest he may well have run 9.7s flat or even sub 9.7s. Back then that was simply unthinkable.

i agree

Whenever I hear shorter guys talk about the advantages that tall sprinters have, Tyson Gay is always the example I bring up. I also believe he's the #2 sprinter of all time - and his height is supposedly between 5'10" and 5'11". Maybe that's taller than the 'global average', but if so, it's only barely taller than average, and he's the 2nd fastest human that's ever been recorded. (EDIT: And don't get me started on distance running... pretty much every world record over 1500m is held by short men - and has been for decades.)

Wolud have been a legend had he not born at the wrong time.

Sept 20th, 2009 - 100m 9.69s

Fair assessment. The stats support Blake and Gay. Gay made one fatal mistake, after losing to Bolt when Bolt set the world record, be set about training to beat THAT record. He was successful in that, but he didn't bank on Bolt upping his game and going even faster..

Can you do all Sub 9.8 Run in History. ❤

"hE wAs a DrUg ChEaT" So what? Yes he made a mistake and it turnished his career, but what he did was still incredible. PEDS don't give you an instant speed cheat. You still have to work for it. This man has gone through a lot and you people beat the living shit out of him for it. He's human. He makes mistakes. Like all of us. Haven't you messed up before? Imagine being reminded and shunned for a mistake you made long ago. A mistake he could've possibly been framed for. Tyson Gay was a great sprinter and deserves his flowers.

good arguments. fix your audio. there's a distortion.

Usain Bolt was in those races slowly getting better. O

Fax

He was no joke

I think you should use the head to head to deside

🤩🙌⛳👏

Tyson #1 american 100m sprinter

Everyone was running for second back then but I agree that Tyson was better than Blake overall.

Blake’s peak was higher, Tyson’s peak was longer

Tyson Gay was supposed to be squeezed in between Asafa Powell and Bolt.

Drug cheats can’t be considered underrated.

Good video and yes I agree Tyson is the 2nd best ever

Lol no, the 2nd greatest 100m sprinter is carl lewis followed by Maurice greene. Heck I would put Gatlin above Tyson because he won a lot more medals. Aside from 2007 and 2009, what major achievements did Tyson really win?

If Tyson Gay born either 15 years before (or 15 years after) Usain Bolt, he would be getting all the headlines like Carl Lewis did or more headlines than Noah Lyles right now.

Tyson could have been the greatest if it weren’t for a freak of nature like Bolt. And I hate to say this but despite rumors and speculation, I don’t think Usain Bolt was on drugs. He was on CUTTING EDGE drugs

OMG, Tyson Gay should’ve been the long standing World Record Holder. Had he avoided those random setbacks, he would have put down some even better times and received more medals. At one point in time, he seemed invincible…likewise for DeGrasse, as well.

No doubt Tyson has a strong case but I think Yohan edge him given the fact that he also as the second fastest 200m also.

Yohan Blake

I agree. However, I shudder to think what Bob Hayes would do in todays world.

Tyson is not underrated. he was just unlucky that Usain was born in the same era.

If Tyson was not so shy, nervous, and tense he may have beaten bolt

_"Too juiced he was"_ - Yoda

Justin gatin or Carl Lewis is the runner up

I am taking Powell for 2nd and Gay 3rd. Even tho I know Gay was faster, Powell's consistency does it for me. Only counting 100m tho. If we add in 200m then I gotta go with Gay

2nd is Yohan Blake Gay is a close 3rd

Good enough to always behind the great USAIN BOLT

I just have one question for you. Has Tyson gay ever beaten Yohan Blake over 100M?

You have to consider the fact that asafa powell doesn't run 200 meters.

Gay was fast. But it’s Bolt 1st, Blake 2nd, Gay 3rd, Gatlin 4th, and everyone else

If Usain Bolt never existed, the sprinting debate would gonna be like basketball or football debate that would be hard enough to choose who’s the greatest overall.

The man snitch when he got caught

imagine being in your mothers stomach for 9 months just to be called tyson gay xd

No one knows because he was convicted of doping. He had advantages of it like Ben Jonsson and Gatlin.

Look at bolt between 07- 08 in the span of one year he was able break the wr in both distance!!!!

Wind aided but was counted

This is how I see it. When it comes to the discussion of who the better sprinter is, there are two factors: 1) Who's dropped faster times? 2) Who's accomplished more in the sport? Blake has an Olympic Gold ( 4x100m) & 2 Silvers (100m & 200m). He also has 2 Golds in the World Championships. Also, it's widely accepted that his 9.69 is more impressive than Tyson's because of the wind. Tyson has 3 World Championship Golds (2007) & 2 Silvers (2009). However, he's got no olympic medals and his 9.69 is considered the less impressive of the two. Its an interesting comparison for these two. Both have the same PB and both suffered career-altering injuries. I think Tyson has had more sub 10s throughout his career and his avg time is faster - he is the more consister performer. However, Blake has more accolades and a better PB. On top of that, he's dropped the 2nd fastest time ever in the 200m as well which only strengthens his claim as the 2nd best. Tyson is my favourite sprinter of all time - he's who inspired me to study sprints in 2007. I've always routed for him. But unfortunately, I'm of the belief that once you've used PEDs, you've removed yourself from the discussion. Gotta give Yohan Blake his flowers on this one. Hats off to him 👏

Man, imagine running 9.71s and still getting silver. I’d be pretty miffed too, that would’ve been a world record not that long ago

Nothing wrong with this guy. Imagine having to deal with prime bolt and prime Blake

We don't talk about or admire PED athletes