When Justin Gatlin won the 100-meter gold at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he became only the second individual in history to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter golds in the same competition. However, his career was quickly derailed by a doping ban that lasted from 2006 to 2010.
Gatlin’s ascent coincided with Bolt’s, and he was doomed to live in Bolt’s shadow for the next two Olympics. A bronze medalist in the London Olympics in 2012, he added a second in Rio four years later. On both times, Bolt won the gold medal.
The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro were Jamaica’s last Olympics. The following year, Gatlin eventually defeated Bolt in Bolt’s last race. Tokyo was supposed to be the focus of attention for Gaitlin. Despite his age of almost 40, he was expected to take part in the Summer Olympics, as theCOVID-19 pandemic derailed the event for one year.
Why isn’t Justin Gatlin competing at the Olympics?
Justin Gatlin of the United States celebrates with the US flag. (Getty)
The 39-year-oldsprinted, dieted, trained, and prepared for four years with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the back of his mind. The four-year wait thenturned into five when the coronavirus pandemichit. It was the culmination of all of that hard work and patience when the U.S. Olympic Trials took place.
However, for Justin Gatlin, the dream endedin less than 11 seconds. He struggled to crossthe finish line, ending up in the lastplace in what would have certainly been his final Olympic trials. TheAmerican sprinter was ruled out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympicsafter suffering a hamstring injury in the men’s 100-meter trials Final in late June.
It was Gatlin who finished second in the Preliminary Stage and third in the Semi-Finals of the competition. He was forced to hobble over the finish line in the finals due to an injury. Tears wiped away his aspirations of winning a gold medal at the Olympics and his goal to become the oldest man to run in the men’s 100m event at the Games.
