Dix reaches a new degree of sprinting his way

EUGENE, Ore. -- Tyson Gay and Darvis Patton wore high-tech, aerodynamically engineered bodysuits to run the finals of the men's 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic track trials on Sunday.

Walter Dix of Coral Springs wore a Florida State singlet.

Clearly, it wasn't the clothes that made the man -- or made him fast.

Dix, the NCAA champion at 200 meters, went down in distance but stepped up a notch to finish second to Gay in one of the fastest races in history. Shrugging off a hamstring injury that plagued him most of the season, Dix found the drive and power to run a wind-aided 9.80 seconds and grab a berth on the Beijing Olympic team.

"It all happened so quick," he said.

Gay's 9.68 was the fastest recorded under any conditions. The wind, measured at 4.1 meters per second, was more than twice as strong as the maximum for a verifiable record, but that didn't detract from the spectacle of Gay, Dix and third-place finisher Darvis Patton (9.84) leading a contingent of six sub-10-second finishes.

Afterward, the usually stoic Gay wrapped Dix in a big hug and praised him for being loyal to the Seminoles while rejecting potentially lucrative offers to turn pro.

"He proved to the world he's capable of running at the professional level," Gay said.

To an extent, Dix had to prove that to himself again after the hamstring injury.

He found reassurance at the NCAA championships, where he finished fourth in the 100 in addition to winning the 200.

"That really helped my confidence and showed that I had my speed back," he said.

His speed was evident when he ran a 9.96 to win his preliminary heat on Saturday, and he pulled back a bit and ran a 10.02 in the quarterfinals a few hours later. He ran a 9.93 in his semifinal on Sunday.

In the final he ran in Lane 3, with Gay to his right.

"My hamstring held up real good," Dix said. "I came off the blocks really well and I felt comfortable during the middle of my race. I knew I was going to run a good time and I felt comfortable running through the line."

The times surprised him. "When you're running, you can't tell anything," he said.

"I just ran to win and all I could think of when I saw the time was 'That's pretty fast.' "

Dix is also entered in the 200, which starts with a preliminary round on Friday. His qualifying time of 19.69 is second only to Gay's 19.62.

Dix's success will keep him in the forefront to be considered for the 4X100 meter relay team. Asked if he had considered whether the American sprinters could challenge the relay record of 37.40, set by the U.S. in 1992 and equaled in 1993, Dix said he hadn't even thought about it.

"This is my first one, so I haven't run any world championships yet," he said. "But 9.6, 9.8, 9.8, sounds like a world record to me."

helene.elliott@latimes.com