Justin Gatlin

Justin Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is an American sprinter. He currently shares the world record in the 100 m sprint (with Asafa Powell) with a time of 9.77 seconds.

Biography

Justin Gatlin (A.K.A. "Juice" and "J-Gat") was born in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Woodham High School in Pensacola, Florida.

In the fall of 2000, Gatlin arrived at University of Tennessee as a good high school 110 m hurdler. During high school, Justin was recruited by UT assistant Vince Anderson. Anderson had to convince Tennessee head coach Bill Webb that Justin was fast enough to compete at the Southeastern Conference level. After training and competing in UT's program for two years under the guidance of former Tennessee assistant Vince Anderson, Gatlin won six consecutive NCAA titles. In the fall of 2002, Gatlin left Tennessee after his sophomore season to join the professional ranks. Just two years later, he won the gold medal in the 100 m (9.85 s) at the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly beating Francis Obikwelu of Portugal and the defending champion Maurice Greene. He also won a bronze medal in a USA sweep of the 200 m race, and a silver medal as a member of the 4 x 100 m relay squad. In the 2005 World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, he again triumphed over 2003 champion Kim Collins, capturing the gold medal in the 100 m.

Gatlin's Olympic 100 m final time is the second fastest in Olympic history, and his fastest recorded 200 m time of 19.86 seconds, although wind-aided, is the fastest mark for a junior (under 20) athlete.

In 2001, Gatlin was banned from international competition for two years after testing positive for amphetamines. Gatlin appealed on the grounds that the positive test had been due to medication that he had been taking for a number of years for attention deficit disorder, with which he was diagnosed as a child. The appeal resulted in an early reinstatement by the IAAF. ^*

On August 7, 2005, Gatlin clocked a 100 m time of 9.88 seconds to win the World Championship in Helsinki. Starting as a favorite and with world record holder Asafa Powell not competing due to injury, Gatlin beat his competitors by the widest margin ever seen at a men's World Championship 100 m to capture the Olympic-World Championship double. Gatlin also won the 200 m, becoming the second person in athletics history to win both sprint distances during a single World Championship (the first was Maurice Greene in 1999). In the 200 m event, American athletes earned the top four places, the first time any country had done so in World Championship athletics history.

On May 12, 2006, Gatlin, running in the final of the IAAF Super Tour meeting in Doha, Qatar, equalled the 100m world record of seconds (set in 2005 by Jamaica's Asafa Powell). It had originally been thought that he had beaten the record, with a time of 9.76 seconds. In a controversial decision, however, the IAAF revealed on May 16 that his time had been 9.766 seconds, which was subsequently rounded up to 9.77, in line with regulations. Shortly thereafter, with the track and field community itching for a Gatlin-Powell showdown, the two both appeared at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon. No agreement could be reached with the meet organizers, however, so the two competed in separate heats, but Gatlin won the event with a time of 9.88 seconds over Powell's 9.93 seconds. After the race, Gatlin commented that

My income is to run and make as much money as I can and be successful. I am not being scared about running against anybody. It’s a business move. You have to go out there and make sure that the races are good.

Gatlin is currently living and training in Raleigh, North Carolina where he also attends St. Augustine's College. He is a regular competitor on Spike TV's show Pros vs Joes, which pits professional athletes against nonprofessionals.

External links

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Biography

See also

External links