Sprinters Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix fight for tickets to London

Tyson Gay will be running the 100-meter against Michael Rodgers, Walter Dix, Justin Gatlin, and Darvis Patton. Allyson Felix has opted to run the? 100-200 double.

By Eddie Pells,?Associated Press / June 22, 2012

Sprinter Tyson Gay reacts after winning the men's 100-meter race at the Diamond League New York Grand Prix athletics meet June 9, 2012.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

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?Now that everyone knows which two races Allyson Felix will run, it's time to find out if Tyson Gay is fit enough to win even one.

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Over the next 10 days in Eugene, two of the best-known American sprinters will try to qualify for a trip to the London Games. But while Felix heads into Olympic trials in good form, Gay has been struggling with injuries for months.

"Thirty," said Gay, who turns 30 in August, when asked how he's feeling.

IN PICTURES: Team USA hopefuls for London Olympics

He has spent most of the past year dealing with a hip injury. His first race back was in New York earlier this month, where he ran 10.00 seconds into a headwind and said he felt good. The men's 100-meter race, however, might be the most competitive event at Olympic trials, where three spots are available in each event and there are no concessions made for injuries, false starts or anything else.

Among those Gay will have to beat are 2009 national champion Michael Rodgers, Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin and two-time Olympian Darvis Patton. And if Gay somehow gets through that gauntlet, Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake should be waiting in London.

"If I make the team, it would be good," Gay said. "Part of me just says, 'These guys are not going to sit down and let me come back after a year and give it to me easy.'"

Gay's first race is Saturday, while Felix takes to the track Friday.

Felix, a three-time world champion at 200 meters, is still trying to win her first Olympic gold at that distance. She tried the 200-400 last year at the world championships at Daegu, South Korea, but finished second in the 400, then followed with a fatigued third-place finish in the 200.

"Daegu helped me see for myself how doing the 400 first, then coming back trying to sprint, how that worked," Felix said.

Not well, as it turned out. So this time, she opted for the 100-200 double.

"I said from the beginning that what's most important for me is what's going to help me run my best 200," Felix said. "Bobby (Kersee, Felix's coach) felt running the 100 helps my 200, and for me, that's what it's all about."

But while she was making her decision, Sanya Richards-Ross was quietly going about setting up her own chance at the double that Felix opted not to try. Richards-Ross, whose specialty is in the 400, holds the world's fastest time in both the 200 and 400 this year and will try to qualify for both. Like Felix, Richards-Ross has unfinished business: She was a favorite in the 400 in Beijing but slowed at the end. She finished third, a result that left her crying under the stands at the Bird's Nest stadium.

The reason she's trying for the 200-400 while Felix chose not to is that Richards-Ross' key event is the 400 ? the one that comes first on the schedule at both the Olympics and at trials.

"Whatever happens in the 200 will be extra, a lot of fun," she said. "If it were flipped, I'm almost sure Coach (Clyde) Hart wouldn't want me to" attempt the double.

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