Tyson Gay Upsets Usain Bolt in Battle of Track Titans

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Tyson Gay of the U.S. (L) wins the men's 100 metres final ahead of Jamaica's Usain Bolt at the IAAF Diamond League "DN Galan" at Stockholm Olympic Stadium

REUTERS/Maja Suslin/Scanpix Sweden

Entering Friday’s race, Bolt’s claim to 100-meter fame was the world record. But history did little to faze Gay in Stockholm.

One year after the Jamaican broke his own Beijing-bred mark in Berlin, his American counterpart stole the show at the DN Galan meet in Sweden, winning the 100-meter competition with a time of 9.84 seconds. While Gay’s time was still shy of Bolt’s record of 9.58 seconds, the AP reports that Gay was in control from start to finish, with Bolt looking visibly winded toward the end.

(See why Bolt was one of TIME’s prime candidates for 2009 Person of the Year)

Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, who rounds out the top three fastest men in the world, did not participate because of a back injury. The trio has yet to compete together in one race — building plenty of anticipation for the primetime events at the 2012 Olympics in London.