Justin Gatlin

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Men's athletics
Olympic medalist
Justin Gatlin after winning the 100 m event at the 2005 IAAF World Championships
Medal record
Gold	2004 Athens	100 m
Silver	2004 Athens	4x100 m Relay
Bronze	2004 Athens	200 m

Justin Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is an American sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist who shares the world record in the 100 m sprint (with Asafa Powell) with a time of 9.77 seconds. However, his record is likely to be revoked after a positive doping test and its resulting 8-year competitive ban.

1 Biography
2 Doping Case
3 Personal Statistics
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Justin (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. [1]

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 9.77s(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 +1.7m/s wind. 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 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.

[edit] Doping Case

On July 29, 2006 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. [2] 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 authorised anyone to administer such a substance to me.

The substance that it is believed that Gatlin has being tested positive was "testosterone or its precusor". [3] The failed test was revealed after a relay race on April 22, 2006 in Lawrence, Kansas, USA. [4] 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. After Gatlin's failed test, Graham stated in an interview that Gatlin had been set up [5], [6] 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". [7]

Gatlin had previously tested positive for amphetamine at the US junior championships at the University of Tennessee but the subsequent ban was not required to be served (though it remained upon the books) on the grounds that the substances were medication to combat attention deficit disorder [8].

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. [9]

[edit] Personal Statistics

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
Weight: 183 lbs (83 kg)

[edit] See also

World record progression 100 metres men

[edit] External links

Olympic champions in men's 100 m

Persondata
NAME	Gatlin, Justin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American athlete, Olympic medalist, world record holder for 100 m dash
DATE OF BIRTH	February 10, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH	Brooklyn, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH