Justin Gatlin

Career

Gatlin 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.  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 inHelsinki, he again triumphed over 2003 champion Kim Collins, capturing the gold medal in the 100 m.

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, the third – Tyson Gay during the 2007 championships in Osaka and the 4th - Usain Bolt during the 2009 championships in Berlin). 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 100 m world record of 9.77s (set in 2005 by Jamaica's Asafa Powell), though this was later annulled. It had originally been reported that he had beaten the record, with a time of 9.76 seconds +1.7 m/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. 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.

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 Kissimmee, Fl under coach Brooks Johnson. He is a regular competitor on Spike TV's showPros vs Joes, which pits professional athletes against nonprofessionals.

On December 19, 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.

On August 3, 2010 Gatlin made his return to the athletics circuit after the four-year doping ban with a tour of Estonia and Finland. He won the 100 m in Rakvere, recording 10.24 seconds.  At the Ergo World Challenge meeting in Tallinn he improved further with a win in 10.17 seconds. His coach, Loren Seagrave, acknowledged that the sprinter's starts were poor, but that Gatlin's finish to the race remained strong. Running at the final meet of the Finnish Elite Games series in Joensuu, Gatlin won in the absence of injured Steve Mullings. In Rovereto, Italy, on August 31, 2010 Gatlin got second place with a 10.09 run behind Yohan Blake, who won in 10.06 seconds.

On June 25, 2011, in the 2011 USA Track & Field Championships, Gatlin placed second behind Walter Dix with a time of 9.95 seconds, a season's best and represented the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, where he was eliminated in the semifinals. On the Japanese television show "Kasupe!" airing November 1, 2011, Gatlin ran a wind-aided 100 meter time of 9.45 seconds, the "aid" coming from a large wind machine blowing at speeds over 25 meters per second. Gatlin received 2 million yen (approximately $25,000) for appearing on the program.

At the 2012 Diamond League meeting in Doha, Gatlin ran an impressive 9.87 seconds, defeating Asafa Powell by one hundredth of a second and putting himself as a favourite for a medal at the 2012 London Olympics. On June 24, 2012 Gatlin won the 100m final at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, OR with a personal best time of 9.80 seconds, the fastest time in history for a man over 30. On August 5, 2012 at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, he won bronze in the 100m final with a new personal best of 9.79 seconds, behind Usain Bolt, who set a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds, and Yohan Blake, who equalled his personal best of 9.75 seconds.

On June 6, 2013, Gatlin beat world record holder Usain Bolt by one-hundredth of a second and won the 100 meters at the Golden Gala meet in Rome, Italy. On August 11, 2013, Gatlin won a silver medal behind Usain Bolt in the 100m at the IAAF World Championships in a time of 9.85. Bolt won the race in 9.77. Gatlin also took another silver in the 4x100m relay, crossing the line in 37.66 seconds, behind Jamaica who won in 37.36 seconds.

On September 5, 2014, Gatlin won the 100 metres at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels with a personal best of 9.77 seconds. He then went onto to complete a sprint double at the meet, winning the 200 metres in a time of 19.71 seconds. This was the second fastest time of the season, behind his world lead of 19.68 he set at the Monaco Diamond League earlier in the year. Gatlin's performances earned him a nomination for IAAF Athlete of the Year.

On May 15, 2015, Gatlin improved his personal best to 9.74 (+0.9 m/s) at the Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix. The mark was the fastest in the world since Yohan Blake ran 9.69 in August 2012. It was the ninth best performance in history and improved Gatlin's standing as the fifth best performer of all time. On June 5 2015, Gatlin beat Usain Bolt's 100 m Rome Diamond League record of 9.76 seconds set in 2012. Gatlin finished the 100 m race in 9.75 seconds beating Bolt's record by 0.01.

PERFORMANCE

WIND

PLACE

DATE

100 Metres

9.74

+0.9

Doha

15 MAY 2015

200 Metres

19.68

-0.5

Monaco (Stade Louis II)

18 JUL 2014

200 Metres

19.68

+0.9

Eugene (Hayward Field), OR

30 MAY 2015

110 Metres Hurdles

13.78

+1.6

Columbia, SC

12 MAY 2001

PERFORMANCE

WIND

PLACE

DATE

50 Metres

5.71

New York (MSG), NY

28 JAN 2012

55 Metres

6.15

Gainesville, FL

14 JAN 2012

55 Metres

6.15

Gainesville, FL

22 JAN 2012

60 Metres

6.45

Boston (Roxbury), MA

01-mar-03

200 Metres

20.42

Fayetteville, AR

24-feb-02

60 Metres Hurdles

7.86

South Bend, IN

03-feb-01

Date

Competition

Location

Event

Position

Performance

2003

World Indoor Championships

 Birmingham

60 m

Gold

6"46

2004

Olympic Games

Athens

100 m

Gold

9"85

200 m

Bronze

20"03

4×100 m

Silver

38"08

2005

World Championships

 Helsinki

100 m

Gold

9"88

200 m

Gold

20"04

2011

World Championships

 Daegu

100 m

Semi final

10"23

2012

World Indoor Championships

 Istanbul

60 m

Gold

6"46

Olympic Games

London

100 m

Bronze

9"79

4×100 m

Silver

37"04

2013

World Championships

Moscow

100 m

Silver

9"85

4×100 m

Silver

37"66

2015

World Relay Championships

 Nassau

4×100 m

Gold

37"38

4×200 m

Final

sq