Justin Gatlin

Justin Gatlin
	; Justin Hermy Gatlin after winning the 100 m event at the 2005 IAAF World Championships
Medal record
Representing United States
Men’s athletics
Olympic Games
World Championships

Justin Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist, with a personal best of 9.85 seconds. He is currently serving a four year ban from track and field for testing positive for a banned substance, which he is currently appealing.

Biography

Gatlin 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, Knoxville, as a good high school 110 m hurdler. During high school, Justin was recruited for track by coaches Vince Anderson and Bill Webb who quickly realized his potential and turned him into a sprinter. ^[1] 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 since his childhood when he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. The appeal resulted in an early reinstatement by the IAAF.^[2]

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 in Helsinki, becoming the second person in athletics history to win both sprint distances during a single World Championship (the first was Maurice Greene during the 1999 championships in Seville and the third – Tyson Gay during the 2007 championships in Osaka). 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 9.77s(set in 2005 by Jamaica's Asafa Powell). It had originally been reported that he had beaten the record, with a time of 9.76 seconds +1.7m/s wind. 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.^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Gatlin pulled out of a meeting with Powell set for July 28, 2006 at the London Grand Prix.

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.

On November 29 2006 ESPN reported that Gatlin had worked out with the Houston Texans football team, although, he has little football experience and "has not played football since 10th grade".^[4]

On December 19th 2006 ESPN reported that Gatlin will work with Woodham High School's track team as a voluntary coach. He will help his old high school with "some workouts, sprint work, block work, where he sees something and can give encouragement."^[5]

On May 4th 2007 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team announced that Gatlin would be one of 28 free agents taken to their 2007 rookie camp on tryout contracts, and is considered to be the most intriguing unsigned athlete in attendance. Gatlin will be trying out for the team as a wide receiver.^[6]

Doping case

On July 29 2006 Justin Gatlin told the media that he had been informed by the USADA that he had given a positive doping test in April the same year. He did, however, claim his innocence in the matter: "I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorized anyone to administer such a substance to me."^[7]

The substance that it is believed that Gatlin has being tested positive was "testosterone or its precursor".^[8] The failed test was revealed after a relay race on April 22 2006 in Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.. The "B" sample was confirmed as positive in July.

Gatlin is coached by Trevor Graham. Among athletes Graham has coached, eight have tested positive or received bans for performance enhancing drugs.^[9] After Gatlin's failed test, Graham stated in an interview that Gatlin had been sabotaged.^[10] Specifically, he blamed massage therapist Christopher Whetstine, for rubbing a creme with testosterone onto Gatlin without his knowledge. The therapist denied this claim, saying: "Trevor Graham is not speaking on behalf of Justin Gatlin and the story about me is not true."^[11]

On August 22 2006 Gatlin agreed to an eight year ban from track and field, avoiding a lifetime ban in exchange for his cooperation with the doping authorities, and because of the "exceptional circumstances" surrounding his first positive drug test.^[12] However, on December 31, 2007, in the final ruling, Gatlin received a four-year ban from athletics. Furthermore, his 9.77 performance, set in May 2006, was annulled.

Possible NFL career

It has also been reported that Gatlin plans to serve his four year ban from the track on a football field. Following the 2007 NFL Draft Gatlin worked out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans in hopes of being a wide receiver.^[13]