By Gene Cherry EUGENE, Oregon (Reuters) - World champion Tyson Gay ran the fastest 100 meters of all-time to win the American Olympic trials on Sunday, a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds.
The victory put Gay into his first U.S. Olympic team but the wind speed of 4.1 meters per second deprived the 25-year-old of a world record.
Only marks set with assisting winds of 2.0 meters per second or less can be considered for record purposes.
"The time really meant a lot because that's the time that (co-coach Jon) Drummond has been instilling in my head for a long time, that I could run 9.6," Gay told reporters.
"I didn't really care what the wind was."
Gay showed little emotion at the end of the race.
"But inside I was happy," he said.
Jamaican Usain Bolt holds the world record of 9.72 seconds. The previous best time under any conditions was a wind-assisted 9.69 seconds by Obadele Thompson of Barbados in 1996.
Gay, who ran a national record 9.77 seconds on Saturday, made a solid start and by 40 meters was in complete control of the race.
The double world champion will attempt to make the U.S. team in the 200 meters later this week with the first round on Friday.
Former collegiate champion Walter Dix finished second in 9.80 seconds with Darvis Patton third in 9.84 seconds. Both made the U.S. team.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
(For more Olympic stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" here; and see our blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)
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