Gay secures sprint treble with relay gold

OSAKA, Japan, Sept 1 (Reuters) Tyson Gay became just the second man to win the sprint treble at a single world championships when he led the United States to victory in the men's 4x100 metres relay final today.

The 24-year-old teamed up with Darvis Patton, Wallace Spearmon Jr. and Leroy Dixon for a season's best time of 37.78 to add a third gold to his 100 and 200 metres titles and match compatriot Maurice Greene's feat at the 1999 championships.

''The 4x100 really puts the icing on the cake for this week,'' Gay told reporters. ''I was extremely tired but my team mates told me come out and do it one more time.'' It was Gay's ninth race in Osaka and fatigue may have been responsible for a clumsy baton exchange with his training partner and 200m bronze medallist Spearmon as he powered off for the penultimate leg.

''At the University of Arkansas it was always Spearmon to Gay and we never lost a race,'' Spearmon said.

''My only thought was to pass it as good as possible to the fastest man on earth. He is my role model, my hero everything.

He was the leader of our team. It wasn't our best handover but we got the stick around.'' Gay's baton change at the end of his leg was not the slickest either and the race was still open going into the final 100 metres.

''My goal was to produce the biggest possible lead for our last runner,'' Gay said. ''Our hand-off was not the best so I tried to push him a a little bit.'' But Dixon did his better-known team mates proud with a storming finish against Jamaica's 100m world record holder Asafa Powell.

Powell, Marvin Anderson, Usain Bolt and Nesta Carter won silver in 37.89, just edging the British quartet of Christian Malcolm, Craig Pickering, Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis-Francis, who won bronze in 37.90.

Powell and Bolt had lost to Gay in the 100 and 200 finals respectively but had high hopes of wrenching the relay gold medal away from the American.

''We were the team to break the world record but we made too many mistakes,'' Powell said.

The US have held the world record of 37.40 seconds since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and have now won the 4x100 relay seven times in the 11 world championships.

For Britain it was a second consecutive bronze at the world championships.

''We've got an amazing young team,'' said Lewis-Francis. ''It's great to finish where we finished. The potential is there.'' REUTERS PDS RAI2059