BERLIN: Even though he smashed the American record by six hundredths of a second, Tyson Gay almost looked like he was standing still next to Usain Bolt.

The most anticipated race of the World Championships lived up to its billing as "Das Duell," but Gay's time of 9.71 seconds in Sunday's 100-meter final paled in comparison to Bolt's 9.58 - .11 seconds better than the world record he set exactly one year ago at the Beijing Olympics.

"I'm happy with the silver medal," said the 27-year-old Gay, who struggled with pain in his groin during the semifinal earlier in the day. "I ran my best.