Justin Gatlin of the US wins his 100m heat (© Getty Images)
Immediately after earning the title of “World’s Fastest Man” in Athens with his win in one of the most spectacular 100m races ever, Justin Gatlin confirmed that carrying the mantle of Olympic Champion for the next four years is a big responsibility. It’s also turned out to be a very busy responsibility.
“I usually like to just rest and relax during the season break,” he said after a training session last week,“ but I was so busy flying to different places, doing different things.” But, he added, “It was great. No complaints.”
When most track athletes vacation or simply do nothing at all, the 22-year-old Gatlin, who also left Athens with a relay silver and 200m bronze, crisscrossed the U.S. numerous times in the most hectic fall he’s ever experienced.
He’s marched in and marshalled parades. He took part in a ceremony that marked New York City’s Olympic bid submission for 2012. He’s visited countless schools, and made innumerable local and national television appearances, including the wildly popular late night Tonight Show with Jay Leno. “He’s great, a real down to earth guy,” Gatlin remarked of the comic host, in his own down-to-earth way.
Then there was the Emmy Awards in Hollywood. “It was nice. Very nice,” he emphasised. “I met a lot of people I admired for a long time,” he said, reeling off a list that resembled a Hollywood and pop culture Who’s Who. Immediately after the Olympics, his image graced the cover of a special edition Wheaties cereal box and earlier this month, he received USA Track & Field’s Jesse Owens Award as the top athlete of the year.
The entertainer
Gatlin said that while at times frenzied, his busy schedule was certainly enjoyable. “It comes with the territory. Sometimes I just want to be a regular guy when I’m out or at a store or something like that. Sometimes people recognise me, and they acknowledge me and thank me for how I represented the United States at the Olympics. It really means a lot to me. And I just want to keep doing it. I want to keep entertaining the world.”
His flair for entertaining was vividly displayed to a world-wide audience on 22 August, when his 9.85 personal best led the deepest-ever 100m field across the finish line at Olympic Stadium. The climax of the event was as enjoyable as the celebratory pre-race festivities.
“Since 1 January 2004, that was what I thought about. And I was just relieved and excited.” Laughing at his jaw-dropping scream as he crossed the line, he added, “You saw that in the race.”
Looking back, he said he could have run faster had he been able to control his emotions, an admittedly difficult chore under the intense circumstances that only an Olympic final can create.
“In the last 20 metres I wasn’t as fluent as I was in the rest of the race. It was more emotional. I was so surprised that I was in the lead. I knew I was winning before I reached the line. I think I could have run 9.80 or 9.79 if I kept my composure.”
He wasn’t bothered by the brief delay prior to the 100 final. “It made me concentrate even more. I pumped myself up, just saying to myself, ‘this is the run of my life.’”
“It runs through my mind frequently,” he continued, again laughing, “may be because I can’t believe it. Because it was something I dreamed about since I was nine years old. Sometimes I think, ‘what do I do now?”
Future motivation
Fighting towards and earning the Olympic title at just 22, will it be difficult to maintain the focus needed to try again in Beijing?
“I don’t think so. I’ve always had the ability to step it up a notch. I want to do it again. I want to double [as Olympic champion], and I want to be the first to triple.”
He made one final appearance after his victory in Athens, winning handily in Yokohama in 9.97.
“I didn’t want to do the race originally,” he admitted. Laughing he added, “I wasn’t even prepared. I didn’t bring my training shoes and gear.” He warmed up in a borrowed pair of shoes that were a size too small. But in the end, he raced because he wanted to prove a point. “I wanted to show that the Olympic Games was not a fluke. I wanted to show that Justin was a champion.”
A team player
Gatlin said he resumed training five weeks ago with his group Sprint Capitol, coached by Trevor Graham, and added that he was eager to begin working with newcomers Marcus Brunson and Jamaican Dwight Thomas, a sprinter he’s know since his high school days in Pensacola, Florida.
“It feels like the team I had in college,” Gatlin said. “And I’m a team player. We’re going to have a really good season.”
While training partner Shawn Crawford claimed Olympic gold in the longer dash, Gatlin said he doesn’t foresee any change in intensity as the two continue working together.
“We have the same training patterns, so we really help each other. I have my strengths and weaknesses, and Shawn has his strengths and weaknesses.”
No indoor plans for 2005
For Gatlin at least, the 2005 season won’t begin until sometime late next spring. As in 2004, Gatlin, who raced to the 2003 World Indoor Championships gold medal in the 60 metres, doesn’t plan an indoor campaign anytime soon. “When I do,” he said, “I want to try for a World record.”
Gatlin insists he won’t pick a favourite among the two short dashes and will continue to concentrate his attentions on both. “I just want to continue to focus on both. I want to improve my time in the 100, and go a lot faster in the 200. I want to be a well-rounded athlete,” he continued, “and not lack in either. The 100 is good speed work for my 200 and the 200 is good endurance work for the 100.”
Reaching the start in both sprints at next summer’s World Championships in Helsinki is also part of the plan. But first he knows he has to survive the U.S. team selection process. “That’s always my plan. I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket. I’ve always doubled, in high school, in college, and I’m doing it now as a professional.”
Broadcasting is his future
Besides training, Gatlin will resume his studies in January at Raleigh’s St. Augustine College, where he’s majoring in communications. Eventually, he said, he may pursue a career in front of the camera.
“Tell Dwight Stones,” the former High Jump World record holder who is a regular television commentator in the U.S., Gatlin joked, “that I’ll be after his job.”
For the time being though, Stones needn’t worry too much about his job. Among the most remarkable of Gatlin’s qualities as a competitor, is the patience he’s exhibited since leaving the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2002.
“I just want to take it slowly,” he said. “I know if I stay healthy, I can continue to impress the world.”
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
