BEIJING — Tyson Gay wasn't sure, but he knew he wasn't first; he knew he wasn't second; and he knew he wasn't third. When he looked up at the scoreboard, Gay saw teammate Darvis "Doc" Patton had beaten him for the fourth and final spot into the finals.
Gay's 10.05 in the 100-meter dash ended his chance at winning an individual gold medal. He will have to watch later tonight when Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt, teammates Patton and Walter Dix and former TCU star Michael Frater run the finals of the 100.
"I'm pretty upset," said Gay, who trains in Arlington. "When I get back to the 1/8Athletes'3/8 Village, it's really probably going to set in. My family's here. Everyone at home is supporting me and praying for me. My spirits are a little down. But at the same time, I gave it my best. Everyone knows that. I feel like I just ran out of time."
Gay had not run a race since he strained his left hamstring at the U.S. Olympic Trials on July 5. He pulled out of a scheduled appearance in a London meet July 25 and had spent a month in Germany with sports orthopedist Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfarth.
"I may have needed more races, but I don't really have any excuses," said Gay, who still plans to run the 4x100 relay. "I just didn't make it. My hamstring feels good. It's not bothering me. I don't have any type of excuses. I wasn't too overwhelmed with it being the Olympics. It's just one of those things that's happened."
Patton, a TCU ex who also trains in Arlington, ran a 10.03 to nudge out Gay. Powell won that heat in 9.91. Bolt won the first heat in 9.85, with Dix second in 9.95. Frater, who also runs for Jamaica, finished fourth in 10.01.
Frater edged out Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis. Collins, also a TCU ex, finished fifth in 10.05.
"I didn't make it," said Collins, whose personal best is 9.98. "One spot behind is the worst place to be. But that's life. I can't complain with that."
Tyrone Edgar, an Aggie who runs for Great Britain, finished seventh at 10.18.
"I came here and most people didn't even think I was going to make the semi, but I came and I proved that it can be done," said Edgar, whose personal best is 10.06. "To not get to the finals is a big disappointment, but as you see, I would have to run a real big PB. To be in that type of place at this time, I'm just getting better and better, so next year, I'm most definitely telling myself I'm going to make that final. Now, I know how it feels."