Tyson Gay turns to bobsleigh in search of Olympic medal

Omnisports

September 19, 2016 8:29 AM

Tyson Gay is the latest United States athlete to attempt a jump to the Winter Games in the back of a bobsleigh.

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Sprinter Tyson Gay is aiming to make up for the disappointment of missing out a relay medal in Rio by competing for the United States in the 2018 Winter Olympics as a bobsleigh push athlete.

Gay has been part of a United States 4x100-meter relay team that finished in the top three at the Olympics twice in the last four years, but does not have a medal to show for either of those performances due to a failed drug test and a disqualification.

Not content to wait for another shot on the track in 2020, the 34-year-old is gearing up for a chance at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

Gay and Ryan Bailey - relay team-mates at the London Olympics - are among the 56 men and women competing in Calgary this week at the USA Bobsled National Push Championships, which help set the United States national teams for the 2016-17 international bobsleigh season.

According to a press release from USA Bobsled, Gay has only been working with a sled "for a handful of days."

Though that would seem to leave Gay at a significant disadvantage, the USA has a long history of push athletes moving over from other sports, from Herschel Walker to Lolo Jones.

The latter, incidentally, will also be in Calgary this week.

Jones was on the team in Sochi, placing 11th with Jazmine Fenlator, after she, too, missed out on a track and field medal in two previous Summer Olympics.

The competition in Calgary runs from Wednesday to Saturday, with drivers set to select their teams afterward ahead of next month's national team trials.

Omnisports

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