Justin Gatlin

thumb|Gatlin in 2009 Justin Alexander Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. Quotes It was one of the best races I had all season. I felt really complete, and even though it was really cold out there, about 46 degrees, it felt really good. I was able to concentrate and do what I had to do, even though it was the last race of the season. At the same time, I know that there are better things to come in the sport. I've ran 10.0s and fast times in college before, And I thought it was the same thing. But you have to deal with travel, small rooms, different foods, things like that, things you're not used to dealing with on the college level. And you have to be able to step on the track and run the same times or close to your PR almost every time you run when you're a professional. It was a wake up call for me, I'm young, I have a lot of years ahead of me.  A lot of the guys out there are 25, 27, pushing 30.  I'm still 21. I still got a little rust, I just need to get a little stronger in the last part of the race. I felt like I was back to my old self. I knew I had to get inside myself to bring out the old Justin.  I ran 10.09 in Rome and some people were saying that it wasn't legit, and I wanted to come back and show them that I can come and win. It's just not my time to be World champion.  I have many years ahead of me, and hopefully I can come out and do it again. That's where everything was all wrong, I couldn't do anything about it, but at the same time I knew that I' m the one who can rise to an occasion, and didn't.  I think it crossed over to the Berlin meet.  I didn't feel right.  I stumbled out of the blocks.  I made up ground, but with the time that we ran, anybody could have won that race. I felt that a lot of people were doubting me.  I had to reevaluate myself.  I was like, 'man, what's going on.'  So I had to prove myself again at the next race. That uplifted me. Before I started the race, I knew that I could run in the 9s, I just didn't know when or where.  I just knew that the beginning of my race had to be much better that it usually is.  So when I got out there I was emotionally ready.  I was ready to run fast.  About thirty metres into the race, I was already leading and I just had to carry it through the race. I'm still learning a lot about the history of track and field, and Zurich is one of the biggest meets.  The crowds are really into it. You can feel them when you're on the track. That came without any 200m training, and, after a 10.09 runner-up finish in the 100m an hour earlier. "After the Mexico City race, I didn't even train for the 200 at all. My coach [Trevor Graham] and I stuck with the 100 for the whole season. I felt kind of tight in practice the day before, a little sluggish. I was trying to gather myself.  This whole season has been a good learning experience for me.  I was able to run, I was running good this season, but at the same time, I haven't felt myself.  And that was one of my races where I wasn't feeling like myself. Consistency makes a champion. I know that.  And instead of having a good race and then having an OK race and than a good race and then a bad race, we're going to work on having just good races and great races."  Another goal, is to become a genuine star. Where I'm always in the limelight or always in the spotlight, or am always the headliner.  To just bring that back to what I'm used to having back in college, and what Trevor's used to having out of his athletes. I'll strictly concentrate on the Olympic year, and the Olympic trials, and just concentrate on outdoors. I wasn't supposed to run indoors this past year, but I was so hyper to run something and prove myself out there that my coach let me run indoors. And missing the upcoming indoor campaign doesn't at all rule out future indoor competition.  I'll hopefully come back after the Olympic year and become another World Indoor champion. We'll rebuild and focus on the 200 and 100, We won't necessarily place a stronger emphasis on either distance.  I'll be able to gauge both of them and run them equally. I want to become a machine, I want to go out there and incorporate some of the abilities I had as a college athlete where I could run a lot of races, different races, at the same meet, and still be able to run good times.  I want to incorporate that into what Trevor is teaching me as well, and run a lot of races, and a lot of good times.  And I just want to go out there and run 19s and 9s and it's no sweat off my back.  I'll be used to that. Gatlin’s search for consistency - an interview with the World indoor champion and $500,000 Moscow winner, WORLD ATLHETICS, November 04 2003 I got to the point where I said, 'I don't care anymore, I was depressed about life, period. There were times I felt, 'Who would miss me if I ran this car off the road right now? Oh man, I definitely had pain in my heart. Was I sitting at home with a knife to my wrist? No. Was I holding a handful of pills? No. But I felt I wasn't worth much – almost to the point I was going to join the military. If I got shot, and died in battle, at least I'd have died for something. I'm lucky, My family and friends believe in me a lot. And even the hurt my parents went through with my ban would not compare to the pain of losing a son in that fashion. They would never have forgiven themselves, or the world of track and field, if I'd done something dumb. But in 2007 I didn't care about training. I was going out all the time, drinking. I could have got in trouble, had fights, gone to jail. Every time I woke up it was the same day over and over again. And I got tired of living that life. I was tired of feeling embarrassed. That brought me back. I wanted to go out there and do what no one's ever done – and that's recapture some kind of glory. I wanted to say, 'You can think what you like of me because of that over there – the scandal. And now you have this victory over here – the comeback. You can judge me as you like on TV or on your blogs but just give me a lane and let me run again.' I can become the best, the second best, the third best but you know what? I've conquered this in a fashion no one's ever done before. Hurdling those hydrants told me I was athletic, i was more interested in finding bugs and grasshoppers. So when we moved to Florida it was like utopia. I was bringing grasshoppers in a jar and pet lizards into our new house even before the furniture had been unpacked. If I hadn't have become a runner I would definitely be a zoologist now. I'm in control now, You can tell I'm calm. It's hard academically for an ADD sufferer – but, doing something they love, they can be the most focused person of all. I had a choice. Either I keep taking my medication and don't turn professional as a runner – or go cold turkey. I went cold turkey. I see so much determination and focus. So much heart. I refused to give an inch to anybody. I was in the zone. That's the confidence I have in these big races. They rounded my time up to 9.77, I never heard of that before. But I was looking to reach a whole new level. You know when people say you might want to sit down for this? I was in that chair a long time – in disbelief and shock. I'd passed all my drug tests at the Olympics and the worlds. Even my world record was tested and I remember the front page news – 'Justin Gatlin Drug Test Ratified'. I only ran in Kansas as a favour. I wasn't gaining any business from it. I ran a relay. The link with Graham didn't help, I was a pawn in that situation. I put all the pieces together because the tests confirmed it wasn't an injection or anything I took orally. It came from a cream-based substance applied to my body. And he [Whetstine] was the only person touching my body at that time. The only time I talked to Chris was before we went to court and he told me: 'Listen, Trevor is the dirty guy. I have so much stuff on him I could throw him under a bus.' I said: 'Look, my career is at stake. If you know the truth then show the world. If you're not the bad guy then show us the bad guy.' But he made a fool of himself in court. He was a character witness for USADA [United States Anti-Doping Agency] but they were laughing at him because he didn't make any sense. Whenever they asked a question he'd say something like 'I've got brain damage – I can't remember that. Going into 2006 we decided to fire him from our camp. I never paid him a dime out my pocket but he had a contract with Nike. I was a Nike athlete then. We told him we didn't want his services later that year because he was acting weird. As athletes we were fed up. But firing him was the worst thing we ever did. I still had a chip on my shoulder, because if it hadn't been for 2001 [and his medication] I'd have only been out for two years and back for the 2008 Olympics. I'm still a fan of the sport and I was excited to watch Bolt race. I was also shocked by how fast he ran. Everyone was. I don't feel strange or alienated. I feel like a fish in water. I feel back where I belong. I've always believed in the power of possibility. At the age of six I didn't stand on rooftops and try to fly – but I definitely felt if I moved my legs fast enough on the edge of a pool I could walk on water. I've done that. If you give yourself limits you're never going to fly. I thrive in this environment where I can assess my competitors through the rounds. It becomes a chess match and once you reach the big show itself, the final, you can strike. What track lacks in physical contact we make up for in psychological warfare. It's all about calibrating yourself in your psyche and laying the gauntlet down to your opponents. It's a dangerous world out there, But I've got the right people around me. People who care about me. People who believe in me. We're going to make sure I go out there and fly again. I'm back, I really am back. Justin Gatlin: I got to the point where I said, 'I don't care anymore', THE GUARDIAN, August 22 2011 External links Category:1982 births Category:Track and field athletes Category:Living people Category:Sportspeople from the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists Category:African Americans