USA coach talks of strongest athletics squad ever

Tyson Gay leads the US athletics squad. (Photo credit: Mao Jianjun/China News)Photo Gallery>>(BEIJING, July 10) -- Bubba Thornton, one of the head coaches for Team USA's track and field squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, told reporters that this year's is the strongest team ever in history and he is very excited about the team.

Thornton will not contemplate on the number of medals his team can bring home this August. But he said that he is confident that Tyson Gay will recover from his leg injury within a month to lead the US track and field team.

The team won 25 medals at Athens 2004 and 26 medals at last year's world championships. Their performance will directly affect the USA's number one position in Olympic medal count.

During an interview with the US press, Thornton did not give a direct answer when asked about how many medals the US track and field squad would harvest. He said with humor that he only hopes the US national anthem would be played so many times at the Bird's Nest that the audience would go home with the tune in their heads and all American athletes would return home happy. To discuss the number of medals, he said, would only put unnecessary pressure on the athletes.

At the US track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon, earlier this month, Men's 100m world champion Tyson Gay ran an uNPRecedented 9.68 seconds on a strong tailwind but pulled out of the Men's 200m race because of a left leg injury.

Two-time Women's 200m world champion Allyson Felix won the same event at the US trials but finished fifth in the 100m. This leaves US trials Men's 200m winner Walter Dix and Women's 100m winner Muna Lee the only hopefuls for a 100m and 200m double gold in Beijing.

Bernard Lagat, who won both the 1,500m and the 5,000m at the US trials, hopes to repeat his double gold performance at the 2007 world championships in Beijing. The 33-year-old Lagat won a silver and a bronze medal at the last two Olympics representing Kenya.

Men's 110-meter hurdles qualifier Terrence Trammell is a two-time Olympic silver medallist and was the runner-up at last year's world championships. He told reporters that he is going to Beijing to challenge Liu Xiang. Trammell also said that though Liu has the advantage of the home field, he will try to turn the pressure into momentum.