Impressive Gay runs wind-assisted 9.68 secs

World champion Tyson Gay ran the fastest 100 metres of all time to win the American Olympic trials on Sunday, a wind-assisted 9.68 seconds.

The victory put Gay into his first US Olympic team but the wind speed of 4.1 metres per second deprived the 25-year-old of a world record. Only marks set with assisting winds of 2.0 metres per second or less can be considered for record purposes.

"The time really meant a lot because that's the time that (coach Jon) Drummond has been instilling in my head for a long time, that I could run 9.6," Gay told reporters.

"I didn't really care what the wind was."

Jamaican Usain Bolt holds the world record of 9.72 seconds. The previous best time under any conditions was a wind-assisted 9.69 seconds by Obadele Thompson, of Barbados, in 1996.

Gay, who ran a national record 9.77 seconds on Saturday, made a solid start and by 40 metres was in complete control of the race.

The double world champion will attempt to make the US team in the 200 metres later this week with the first round on Friday.

Former collegiate champion Walter Dix finished second in 9.80 seconds with Darvis Patton third in 9.84 seconds. Both made the US team.

Olympic long jump champion Dwight Phillips will not be in Beijing after finishing fourth with a wind-assisted leap of 8.20 metres.

Only the top three finishers make the team under the strict US selection procedure.

Trevell Quinley won the long jump with his last attempt, improving his personal best by 14 centimetres to 8.36 metres. Brian Johnson and Miguel Pate also finished ahead of Phillips.