AMERICAN sprinter Tyson Gay, who is scheduled to run the 400 metres at tomorrow’s seventh staging of the Jamaica International Invitational, is hoping to challenge Usain Bolt’s 200m record of 19.19 seconds later this season.

“I hope that my 400m relates to my 200m dropping down and I think that’s the key,” Gay told journalists during a one-hour teleconference organised by track and field’s governing body, the IAAF, yesterday. Gay is third on the all-time list of 200m runners with 19.58 achieved last season. Only Bolt and former record-holder Michael Johnson (with 19.32secs) has ever gone faster.

“I’m healthy and for me to open up with 44.8 by accident, because I haven’t been training in spikes or done any speed work, that’s just amazing, but it just shows that I go out there and run hard,” added the World Champs 100m and 200m gold medallist from 2007.

Bolt lowered both his 100m and 200m world records to 9.58 and 19.19 respectively at last summer’s World Championships in Berlin, a year after setting marks at 9.69 and 19.30 at the Beijing Olympics.

Tyson, who underwent groin surgery last November, indicated that he will by trying to attack the 200m record the same way Johnson did.

“I have more foot speed than Michael Johnson, but at the same time I didn’t have the kind of strength, so I’m kind of trying to go the way… Johnson done it where he had strength in the 400m and went down to the 200m and dropped his time. Hopefully, following that model I’ll be successful,” Gay reasoned.

Johnson, who won two Olympic and four world championships 400 gold medals, established the mark of 43.18secs in 1999.

Gay, who clocked 9.71 to take silver behind Bolt in Berlin last summer, is looking forward to the head-to-head match-ups against Bolt and Asafa Powell on the IAAF Diamond League series this season.

“The last time we ran against each other was Berlin and I really think that this year is going to be exciting for the fans ’cause if they can see that race in Berlin again and again and again, I think that’s what the sport really needs,” he said.

“I think when we all hook up together… the world record could go down,” he added.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old American, who became the first athlete to achieve the milestone of dipping under 10secs in the 100, 20secs in the 200, and 45secs in the 400m when he clocked 44.89secs on April 17, will face a competitive field tomorrow in the 400m at the JII meet.

Gay will match strides with World 400m bronze medallist Renny Quow of Trinidad and Tobago and the Jamaican trio of Ricardo Chambers, Jermaine Gonzales and Lanceford Davis.