Justin Gatlin: a man running for redemption after doping ban
The former Olympic champions sprinter is focused on combatting doubters, says agent Renaldo Nehemiah
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When a furious Justin Gatlin left Beijing, where the world championships will be hosted later this year, boasting he was going to “drop a bomb” in his next race, his manager could only raise a smile.
Renaldo Nehemiah, one of the great athletes of his own era, recognises the fire still burning in Gatlin, one of the most polarising figures in athletics.
There’s nothing he can do about the criticism, the bed’s been made. But what it does is fuel him
Renaldo Nehemiah
Gatlin has twice failed drugs tests and is almost seen as a symbol of the sport’s modern ills. Yet at 33, running faster than ever, the American defies age, biophysics and all logic.
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He could even challenge the peerless Usain Bolt, and become the first ex-Olympic champion to regain the 100-metre crown after a drugs ban, a prospect that sits uncomfortably with his critics.
“There’s nothing he can do about the criticism, the bed’s been made,” Nehemiah said. “But what it does is fuel him. Not from anger but it fuels him to combat the doubters. It gives him that extra chip on his shoulder which he can tunnel into pristine focus.
Gatlin hopes to be able to challenge the peerless Usain Bolt at the Beijing world championships later this year and the Olympics next year. Photo: AP
“He’s a man on a mission. He knows he has only so many races and years left so he’s making every one of them count. It’s not a distraction, it motivates him. It’s like, ‘Take that!”
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Controversy pursues Gatlin more effectively than most of his 100m pursuers.
