Justin Gatlin: The career and controversy of one of the fastest men in history

By some estimations, Justin Gatlin is one of the greatest sprinters of all time, with an Olympic gold medal and four World Championships to his name. For others, a failed drug test cast a dark shadow over what should have been a great career. Let’s take a look at his career and complicated legacy.

Gatlin was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he spent his early years on the track as a hurdler. It wasn’t until he was spotted by coaches from the University of Tennessee that he was converted into a sprinter, per the United States Olympic Committee.

Gatlin’s switch to primarily focusing on the 100m and 200m events paid off, as he won the 2001 NCAA titles in both sprint distances.

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Gatlin was still in college when he received a ban for taking a banned substance. Following a positive test for amphetamines, the Tennessee Volunteer was banned by the IAAF for two years in international competitions, per World Athletics.

Gatlin appealed the drug ban, claiming the medication was for his attention deficit disorder. The IAAF accepted Gatlin’s appeal and reinstated him early.

With another successful NCAA season under his belt, and with the amphetamine ban overturned, Gatlin decided to turn pro in 2002, despite two years of collegiate eligibility left, per World Athletics.

Gatlin’s decision to turn pro paid off immediately, with the sprinter winning the World Indoor 100m and collecting $500,000 (£386,000/€459,000) for coming first, per World Athletics. The purse was, at the time, one of the largest in the sport’s history.

2004 saw the Olympics take place in Athens, the historical home of the Games. For Gatlin, the Games had been his target for two years, with he and his team preparing as best they could to take home the gold. Their preparation worked, with the American taking first place from Francis Obikwelu of Portugal by one-hundredth of a second, per the Olympics.

Gatlin’s next two seasons saw more success, winning the World Championships in 2005 before claiming the 100m world record the next year with a time of 9.76 seconds, shaving one-hundredth of a second off Asafa’ Powell’s time, per the IAAF archive.

2006 saw Gatlin test positive for a banned substance for the second time in his career, this time for a substance that was “testosterone or its precursor,” per TSN.

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Gatlin refused to accept blame for the positive test, telling reporters, “I cannot account for these results, because I have never knowingly used any banned substance or authorized anyone to administer such a substance to me,” per BBC Sport.

Gatlin’s coach, Trevor Graham, had eight athletes test positive for performance-enhancing drugs during a short period, per The Guardian. Graham claimed the results were due to sabotage, with Gatlin’s masseuse applying a cream with testosterone in without the sprinter’s knowledge.

Initially, Gatlin was banned for eight years following the second positive test of his career, however, “Given his cooperation and the circumstances relating to Mr Gatlin's first offence,” the ban was reduced to eight years by the USADA, per BBC Sport.

Having spent much of his ban attempting to forge a career in the NFL, Gatlin eventually returned to the track in 2010.

London 2012 saw Gatlin back at the Olympics under a cloud of controversy following his ban for performing-enhancing drugs. Despite the cloud over him, the American was able to take bronze in the 100m sprint, finishing behind Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.

The next few years saw Gatlin continue to compete at a high level, without finishing atop the podium with any consistency. 2016 saw the sprinter take silver in the Rio Olympics, again finishing behind Usain Bolt.

2017 saw Gatlin take home another World Championships title, winning the 100m despite facing Usain Bolt and teammate Christian Coleman in the final. Gatlin’s victory was met by boos from the London crowd, per LetsRun.

Following his win, Gatlin posed an interesting question to ITV News, “The sport’s okay with people coming back and running and competing, but is the sport okay with these people who have had bans winning?” As Jonathan Gault writes for LetsRun, “For a sizable portion of track & field fans, the answer is no. For good reason, they will never accept a convicted doper like Gatlin back into the sport”.

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