Walnut, California, USA - The 50th running of the Mt SAC Relays on Sunday (20) in suburban Los Angeles found a number of last year’s Osaka luminaries in the early stages of their trek towards Beijing.

A pair of world sprint champions from last year lent their talents to relay teams, but only one was able to bring their quartet to victory.  The Team adidas 4x100 relay - composed of Trell Kimmons, Dwight Thomas, Preston Perry, and Tyson Gay - circled the stadium in a world-leading 38.51.  Gay was unofficially timed in 8.8 for the final 100 metres. 

The “Jamaican” team of Daryl Brown (TRI), Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Ainsley Waugh finished second in 38.93.  A highly anticipated showdown between Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell failed to materialize when the Jamaican bowed out with a shoulder strain suffered Thursday in weight training. 

Gay downplayed his superior finish, saying “I just came here to have fun and run a solid race.”  Asked afterwards to comment on Gay’s heroics, Powell admitted that his rival “ran a pretty good leg, quite impressive.”