World's second-fastest man behind Usain Bolt has made feelings clear about 100m world record being threatened

Tyson Gay - the world's second-fastest man behind Usain Bolt - has made his feelings clear on the 100m world record potentially being at risk from a planned new athletics track.

It was reported by The Telegraph earlier in March that a Cambridge-based laboratory has designed what they believe to be the world's first 'digital smart track'.

The report adds that sensors around the track will provide 'a raft of real-time data', with initial testing suggesting that it will have 'an energy return that is some 20 per cent greater than existing tracks'.

And 'positive' talks are said to have taken place between the laboratory and World Athletics over whether the 'super track' can be ratified.

If it is ratified and used in competition, athletes could reach 'historic running speed' and record faster times than are currently being set.

The track has been co-designed by sports tech firm Feldspar, who recruited former British sprinter Darren Campbell as their Global Track Strategy Director in September 2024.

Campbell has spoken positively about the innovation, stating: "When did we last have some form of technology that isn't a shoe?

"This is the innovation I feel that athletics has been waiting for. All of a sudden nine seconds doesn't seem crazy."

Second-fastest man's verdict on 'super track' that could threaten Bolt

Bolt's 100-metre world record stands at 9.58 seconds, which he set at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

No athlete has come close to beating that time since, with elite modern competitors currently running personal bests in the mid to high 9.70 or low 9.80 range.

The Jamaican holds the second and joint third-fastest 100m times as well, with the two athletes who share the latter time with him having been his rivals during his career.

US sprinter Gay ran 9.69 at a meeting in Shanghai in September 2009 - weeks after Bolt's current record - while Jamaica's Yohan Blake matched it in August 2012.

Notably, neither man ever won an Olympic gold medal during their careers.

In July 2024, Gay made his feelings clear on the new track after a video promoted by Feldspar.

The American is certainly receptive to the idea, with his comment reading: "Looking forward to seeing the development of this... pretty awesome."

Tyson Gay has made his feelings clear on a new athletics 'super track' (Image: Instagram/Feldspar)

Gay was tipped as a major contender to win the 100m final in the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and it was billed as a three-horse race between himself, Bolt and Asafa Powell.

Heading into the Games, Bolt and compatriot Powell were the joint-fastest men in 100m history, having both run times of 9.72 earlier in 2008.

And although Bolt set a new world record of 9.69 in the final in Beijing, the three-horse race didn't pan out as planned.

Gay suffered a shock exit in the semi-finals after finishing in fifth place with a time of 10.05.

And Powell did not challenge at all the final, running a slower time than he did in his semi-final - a 9.95 - to finish fifth.