Justin won 200m in a blistering 19.57 seconds to win yet another gold medal at the US athletics meet
Justin Gatlin reacts after winning the 200-metre event at the US track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon (USA), on Sunday. (Photo: AP)
Eugene (United States): Controversial sprinter Justin Gatlin fired a World Championships warning shot, winning the 200m title at the US athletics championships in a blistering 19.57sec. “I wanted to come out and make a statement, and that’s what I did,” Gatlin said on Sunday after a career-best that improved on the season-leading 19.68 he set on the same Hayward Field track at the Eugene Diamond League meeting in May.
The 33-year-old, who completed a four-year doping ban in 2010, is now the fifth-fastest man of all time in the event, behind Usain Bolt — who holds the world record of 19.19 — Yohan Blake, Michael Johnson and Walter Dix. With his dominance this season — he also owns the fastest 100m time of the year of 9.74sec — he has set the stage for a scintillating showdown with Bolt in both the 100m and 200m at the August 22-30 World Championships in Beijing.
Gatlin came off the turn well in front and powered home. “I know I had a great start, attacked coming off the turn and ran a great 150,” said Gatlin, who called it “the most complete technically 200 meter I ever ran.” Isiah Young was second in 19.93 with Wallace Spearmon third in 20.10.
Even as he has dominated the sprint world this season, Gatlin has found his past doping transgressions in the spotlight, as has US teammate Tyson Gay — who booked his Beijing berth with a 100m victory on Saturday.
Current allegations also cast a cloud over these championships, after Alberto Salazar, coach of US distance runner Galen Rupp, was accused in a BBC/ProPublica documentary this month of infractions. Kara Goucher, one of the athletes who has leveled allegations against Salazar, fanned the flames on Sunday, hitting back at the coach for branding her a liar.
( Source : AFP )
Next Story
