19-year-old Bromell shines, Gay upstaged

EUGENE, UNITED STATES: Tyson Gay launched his bid for a first World Championships berth since 2009 on Thursday, but Remontay McClain’s 9.82sec overshadowed the veteran in the 100m heats at the US athletics championships.

The 22-year-old McClain’s impressive, albeit wind-aided, effort relegated his training partner Gay to second place in 9.85sec in a heat run in a favorable wind of 4.9 meters per second.

And 19-year-old collegian Trayvon Bromell won his heat in 9.84sec — the time matching the third-fastest of the year and run in a legal wind of 1.3 metres per second. It’s a sign of the task Gay faces as he tries to move on from a oneyear doping ban and re-establish himself as the kind of sprint force he was in winning 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold at the 2007 World Championships. The 32-year-old American acknowledged that he finds himself in a “different era.” “It was weird — maybe weird’s not the right word — the different guys I’m running with now,” Gay said. “It’s a different era for me. When I went in the back, all the new faces — it was different.”

POWELL SETS PACE

KINGSTON: With Usain Bolt a notable absentee, Asafa Powell threw down the gauntlet at the Jamaican national senior trials on Thursday by running a blistering 9.98 seconds to qualify for the 100 metres semi-finals.

Bolt, the world record holder at 100 and 200m, has struggled this year and his absence on Thursday sparked concerns about his fitness ahead of this year’s world championships in Beijing.

MO STAYS WITH SALAZAR

LONDON: Britain’s double Olympic champion Mo Farah will continue to work with Alberto Salazar despite the doping allegations surrounding his coach, the athlete said on Friday. “Although it’s been a difficult time, I asked Alberto to respond to the allegations made against him and he has now done so in full,” said Farah.