America's fastest man Tyson Gay points out lack of respect for Olympians in USA - "We can give so much back but they don't need our services"

Tyson Gay, the fastest American sprinter in history, took a slight dig at the American audience, claiming that Olympians don't get the same respect in the nation as compared to Jamaica. However, the former world champion also pointed out that track and field is still an "amateur sport," which is one of the reasons behind the low popularity of the sprinting stars.

Gay was one of the most talented sprinters of his era, one of the few who challenged and even beat the great Usain Bolt. He faced the Jamaican four times over the 100m, winning once while losing to the fastest man in history thrice. However, he dominated the head-to-head record against Bolt over the 200m.

The 42-year-old faced the Jamaican eight times over the 200m, beating him a staggering six times. While most of these meetings came in the early years of Bolt's career, Gay continued to remain a threat, running a blistering 9.69s in 2010 to become the fastest American in history.

Alongside Justin Gatlin and Assafa Powell, Gay weighed in on the current situation of track and field on The Powells podcast.

"I believe it's just because it's a whole amateur sport thing, no union and from my point of view in America, it's almost like, 'congratulations, go do it again' and it's like, that's it? It's tough,” Tyson Gay said. [24:30 onwards]

He recalled his experience from his recent trip to Jamaica where he said he remains popular, even nearly a decade after his retirement, with people asking him for selfies. However, in the USA, he claimed it isn't the same.

“You don't really get that type of respect to at least come and be around, at least be able to talk to the newcomers, talk to them about the mentality because we have been through it, we have been through injuries, through the ups and downs, so we can give so much back to the new generation, but unfortunately they don't really need our services,” he noted.

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Tyson Gay questions decision to drop Quincy Wilson from the USA mixed relay squad at the Paris Olympics

London 2012 - Athletics - Tyson Gay in action (Source: Getty)

Quincy Wilson is arguably the biggest emerging star of the 2024 track and field season with the 16-year-old running some seriously fast times while making it to the Olympics as well. However, when he was dropped from the mixed 4x400m relay team at the Paris Olympics, Tyson Gay wasn't in favor of the decision, arguing that he deserved to be on the team based on his performance.

Speaking on Powell's podcast, he said:

“I thought he would be running the mixed relay for sure, so I don't know if he's injured. I heard rumors that maybe he's injured so I don't know, but I feel like he earned his spot for the simple fact he ran 44.20s, so that alone is (enough).” [42:40]

Wilson wasn't injured and later ran in the qualification round of the men's 4x400m relay. While he didn't look to be at his best, he got a gold medal to his name nonetheless.