BRUSSELS - After his 19.70 clocking behind Xavier Carter last month in Lausanne, Tyson Gay firmly staked his ground among the all- time half-lap elite. A month later, after sizzling back-to-back performances in Zurich and Brussels, the 24-year-old has now emerged as arguably the finest all-round sprinter currently burning up the tracks of Europe.

Tonight in Brussels, he underscored his 200 meter expertise with a slick and smooth 19.79 performance, avenging for the second time in as many races his Lausanne loss to Carter.

"It felt good and I was pretty relaxed," Gay said after lowering the meet record from the 19.88 set by J.J. Johnson in 2001. "I knew the curve was pretty big so I tried to use that to my advantage. We didn't have much wind behind us, so it could have been a little bit faster, but that's alright."

At London's Crystal Palace last month, Gay powered to a 19.84 win, well ahead of Carter's 19.98. That performance came on the heels of a personal best 9.88 over the short dash in Rethimno, Greece. This time, the prelude to his victory in Brussels --again well ahead of Carter's 19.97--- was a scintillating 9.84 dash in Zurich, a performance which, had it come on any other night but the one on which Asafa Powell tied his world record of 9.77-- would have stolen the headlines.

Here, Carter made a brief late race surge which Tyson easily fended off.

"No, I didn't feel him coming up on me," Gay said. "I felt him coming in Lausanne but this time I didn't feel him coming at all. That was my plan, to go by him and let him come and chase me again. And it seemed to work this time."

While developments on and off the track have focused the sprint headlines elsewhere this summer, Gay is nonetheless pleased with his overall campaign.

I've been working on a lot of speed work this year," he said of his significant improvement and consistency this year. "And since I've been running lots of 100s it's been helping my curve get better. I almost PR'ed today and I PR'ed in Zurich, and I've been to great tracks. And it's just been a blessing to come out here and compete against the world's greatest."

He believes that he can still go faster, primarily by improving his start and increasing his power. "I'm not as strong as I could be," he said, "and I need to get stronger in the weight room."

But for now, he's content with a victory in front of one of the largest crowds he's ever entertained.

"The weather conditions weren't perfect, but my race almost was. I was near my personal best and I'm just getting more consistent. I hope I can go even faster in Berlin."