Gay awestruck during chat with Kobe

BEIJING (Reuters) - He is a world champion sprinter and among the favorites to strike gold at the Beijing Olympics yet Tyson Gay was awestruck during a brief chat with American basketball player Kobe Bryant.

"I was very surprised. We were in the gym I asked him if I could I take a picture with him," Gay told reporters Monday. "He said 'How's your leg, you are in my heart. I hope everything's coming on.'

"I texted my mother and told her. She was shocked."

Bryant, a Los Angeles Lakers guard and the NBA's most valuable player, is the leader of the crack U.S. Olympic basketball team favored to win gold in Beijing.

The U.S. beat China 101-70 on Sunday in one of the most highly anticipated events of the Olympics. Even the pro-China crowd cheered wildly for Bryant.

"It meant something to me," Gay said. "He's a huge superstar, they love him over here."

Gay, who hurt his hamstring during the U.S. national championships but remains a force in the 100 meters, even hung around Bryant when the U.S. athletes circled the stadium during Friday's opening ceremony.

"The crowd was chanting 'Ko-be, Ko-be' and I wanted to get next to him so I would be on TV," he said.

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips; Writing by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Ed Osmond)

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