Tyson Gay dedicates track season to daughter’s memory

As Tyson Gay prepares for what is expected to be his final U.S. Track and Field Outdoor Championships this weekend in Sacramento, he told Sports Illustrated of how he’s dedicating this season to the memory of his daughter Trinity, who was shot and killed last year in Lexington.

Trinity died Oct. 16 after being shot in the neck during an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles at Cook Out restaurant on South Broadway. The suspects involved in the incident have been indicted, but no trial date has been set.

“It was soon after the tragedy that I texted my agent and told him I wanted to run one more season for her,” Gay said in an article by Chris Chavez published online Tuesday on SI.com. “We’ll see how the body feels after that.”

Gay, 34, an Olympian and one-time world record holder in the 100 meters, said in the article that he considered retirement after a disappointing disqualification in the 4-by-100 meter relay at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janiero last year. Shortly before his daughter was killed, Gay was considering Olympic bobsledding as a post-track career.

Tyson said he has undergone counseling over the years to help deal with setbacks in his career; he also sought it after his daughter’s death, according to the article.

“Some days you’re at practice and other days you’re not. Some days you’re going through the motions. Some days you’re having a good day,” Gay told Sports Illustrated. “It’s still like that now and I just have to keep pushing as it makes you stronger. I’ve got to keep these old legs moving.”

Gay told Sports Illustrated he did not know whether he or Trinity’s mother would attend any of the trial proceedings.

They were recently together as Lafayette High School rededicated the annual track meet once named for Gay as the Trinity and Tyson Gay Invitational in April. Trinity would have been a sophomore running for the same school where her father first gained fame as a track athlete.

“It means a lot to me because I don’t want people to forget the type of person she was and the type of heart she had,” Gay said at the event. “I just want people to have a fair shot in life and have fun and go to school. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what she was about.”

This story was originally published June 20, 2017 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Tyson Gay dedicates track season to daughter’s memory."