Beijing - The Olympic cauldron was lit in the first minute of his 26th birthday on Saturday and Tyson Gay will aim to burn the track a week later in one of the hottest 100-metres finals in Olympic history. World champion Gay said on Monday that his hamstring injury has fully healed and that he is ready to battle Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell in the blue-riband race of the Beijing Games.
"It is definitely one of the hottest 100m in Olympic history. Anything is possible," Gay told a news conference.
The race is so big that even basketball superstar Kobe Bryant inquired about Gay's health, much to the surprise of the modest sprinter.
"We were in the gym and I wanted to ask him for a picture taken. He asked about my leg. I told my mum straight away 'Kobe Bryant asked about my leg,'" he said, still in utter disbelief.
Gay reassured Bryant, and the world, on Monday that he feels fit to make history in the National Stadium where the first two rounds are set for Friday and the semis and final for Saturday.
"The hamstring is 100 per cent," he said after being treated by specialist Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt, the doctor of German football giants Bayern Munich and the German national team.
Gay damaged the hamstring in the 200m heats at the US trials and as a result will only run the 100m in Beijing. Last year he scored a 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble at the worlds.
Bolt beat Gay on May 31 with a staggering world record of 9.72 seconds. Powell formerly owned the record at 9.74 and Gay improved his personal best to 9.77 in June to rank third on the all-time list.
"There hasn't been such hype about the 100m in a long time. The people have seen things they have never seen before. People say you can't run that fast. To have three 9.7 runners is amazing.
Gay said the experience of being in Bolt's world record race, as well as himself running a wind-aided 9.68 seconds, were important factors ahead of the big Olympic showdown.
"I will probably have to run 9.6 to beat Bolt. I am adapting my mind to it," he said.
The mental side is also important in another area. Gay may only be third by time, but he is the only one to have won a major title which could give him an edge in the National Stadium - provided the hamstring holds through the four races.
Powell has chocked at big races, but Gay warned that Bolt's young age of 21 could make him the more dangerous rival to get Jamaica's first ever 100m gold.
"He is a young guy and has fun, maybe he will take it a little easier (than Powell)," said Gay.
However, Gay grimaced and took quite a while to respond to the question who was now the favourite.
"This is kind of a hard question. Normally it's the fastest time. But a lot of people are looking forward to doing great things. It depends on how you handle the pressure," said Gay.
Gay said that his family gives him confidence and that his mother could give him a pep talk as she did last year at the worlds in Osaka ahead of his 100m title en route to a rare sprint treble.
He said his family also kept him in check all his life not to become a big show-off like so many other sprinters have been. One of them was the 2000 Olympic champion Maurice Green, whom Gay greatly admires despite his differing personality.
The Olympics have seen plenty of big sprint duels and such famous champions as Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis or Greene, but the three-way title race is special.
"The sense of history is important. But the first goal I set for myself is the gold," said Gay.
Gay is trying to maintain his concentration by spending a lot of time in his room, but he nonetheless cherishes the Olympic experience - not only because he met Bryant and the fact that his birthday had just arrived when he was at the opening ceremony to see the Olympic flame being lit.
"The Olympics mean a lot to me. I have seen others run and it inspired me to come here. It is amazing, not like the meets. There are all the athletes from all the sports," Gay said, adding that the opening ceremony and the torch lighting just as his birthday had arrived were "the best experience in my life."
Gay revealed that he was wondering at the ceremony whether he should move closer to Bryant to get on TV, but if all goes according to plan on Saturday he will have all the cameras all to himself.
