EUGENE, Oregon (AFP) - So what does Tyson Gay do for an encore after running the fastest 100 meters in history? How would anyone follow up his mind-boggling 9.68-second wind-aided effort?

The potentially dazzling answer will begin to unfold here Friday at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials when Gay launches his bid to reach Beijing in the 200 with qualifying ahead of two more rounds Saturday and a Sunday final.

"It's hard to comprehend what he did no matter what the conditions were," said US Olympic assistant coach Harvey Glance, a 1976 Olympic 4x100 relay gold medalist.

"Tyson's 9.68 was just remarkable. It speaks for itself. Regardless of what the wind was, nobody had ever done that before and it was extraordinary... if he does that in the Olympic Games, it doesn't matter who he's in a race with.

"What I'm really excited about is to see those 100 times translating to 200 meters. We'll have some 19.6s on the board and more crazy stuff before all is said and done."

Gay won the 100 and 200 at last year's World Championships and hopes for the same double at Beijing after Sunday's sensational 100 final triumph. He must reach the podium in next Sunday's 200 final to have a chance to make it happen.

"Getting a gold medal is my biggest motivation and I want to save the best for last," Gay said. "My expectations are huge going into the Olympics."

Usain Bolt, who set the 100 world record of 9.72 on May 31 to beat Gay at New York and break Asafa Powell's old mark of 9.74, already booked his Beijing berth in the 100 and 200 at last weekend's Jamaican Olympic trials.

"Lightning" Bolt owns the year's best 200 time, a 19.83 effort three weeks ago, while Gay's best this season is 20.00 from a meet in Kingston two months ago. But Gay is 6-2 against Bolt in the 200.

A superb 100 final where 9.85 could not qualify for the Olympics has experts shaking their heads.

"They can go faster," Glance said. "You saw how close that race was and the fact that the two other guys from Jamaica (Bolt and Powell) ran pretty close to that time. Who knows what might happen in the Olympics?"

Jon Drummond, Gay's coach, might have a clue. Drummond has worked on Gay's stride since the loss to Bolt, focusing on power and start technique to overtake the long-striding Jamaican in head-to-head showdowns at Beijing.

"We worked a lot in the past four weeks," Drummond said. "The Olympics are a month away. They're going to have to line up four times. At the end of four rounds, the results will tell if we have it fixed."

Gay began working with Drummond in May of last year and the two have grown closer as the Olympics approach.

"Working with Jon Drummond has done a lot for me mentally. We talk a lot," Gay said. "He has helped me try to be a champion off the track as well as on.

"He likes to talk about a lot of mental things and edges I have on my competitiveness. This year we grew a little bit more."

Gay styles himself in a low-key manner after the late Jesse Owens, who won the 100, 200 and long jump and helped a 4x100 relay victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

While Gay won't be leaping into sandpits, he will be looking to otherwise emulate Owens right down to a uniform and spikes designed to resemble those used by the legend 72 years ago when defying Adolf Hitler's "Master Race" idea.

"I've been compared to Jesse Owens. I haven't looked to anyone to compare myself," Gay said. "That's just how I was raised."