Posted: May 12, 2006

Athletics: Gatlin On World Record Run: 'I Don't Think This Was The Best Race I've Ever Had'

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

Since striking Olympic gold in the 100 meters at the 2004 Olympic Games, Justin Gatlin has carried the moniker that typically comes with the Olympic title: World’s fastest man.

After his 9.76 dash in Doha, Qatar, this evening, with which he eclipsed the previous world record set last year by Jamaican Asafa Powell by 1/100 of a second, the 24-year-old made that title official.

“I guess it hasn’t hit me yet. My teammates told me it’ll hit me when I get back to America,” Gatlin said, speaking to reporters via teleconference from Doha. “I think I was on track for a world record, but I didn’t think it would come so soon.”

Soon indeed. Not yet mid-May and in only his second race of the season, Gatlin first equaled his personal best of 9.85 in the qualifying round –his other 9.85 came in the Athens final –before his dash into the history books.

“It’s more [a feeling of] disbelief now,” Gatlin continued. “I can’t believe it came so soon. I didn’t think it would come in the second race of the year.”

Exactly a week ago, Gatlin opened his season with a solid early season 9.95 win in Osaka, Japan.

With a double sprint win at last year’s World Championships as a follow-up to his Olympic triumph, Gatlin is already widely regarded as a fierce competitor with an impenetrable focus. He displayed that ability again in Doha, not letting a stand-up call and a false start shift his attention from the task at hand.

“I had to stay focused and really wanted to execute the second half. I told myself to just be patient, and go into my transition phase and into my drive phase.”

Characterizing his race as “pretty good,” Gatlin said there were some mistakes right from the start.

“I really wasn’t one of the first ones out of the blocks,” but after reaching 60 meters in 6.38, Gatlin utilized what he describes as “the best top-end speed out of everybody in the world” to glide by the fast-starting Olusoji Fasuba en route to his first win in Doha in three tries.

Ideal conditions for sprinting, 90 degree temperatures and 70 percent humidity, along with a 1.7 m/s tailwind, helped as well.

“I put together a pretty good race. I’m just speechless about it.” But Gatlin firmly believes that he could have gone a few ticks faster.

“I think I could have run faster, 9.74 or 9.73. I don’t think this was the best race I’ve ever had.”

Gatlin said he’s not thinking about his much-hyped upcoming head-to-head with Powell on June 11 in Gateshead, England. The runner-up finish by Fasuba made it abundantly clear that there are others who are ready to chase Gatlin.

“Anyone who steps to the line is a competitor,” Gatlin said. “You saw that tonight. [Fasuba] got a big PR in the heats, then ran 9.84 in the final. Everybody’s coming out and ready to run fast.”

For his part, Fasuba’s performance was nothing short of exceptional. Prior to the race, the 21-year-old Nigerian’s best was 10.09 set in 2004. After attracting some attention last winter, Fasuba reached the final of the 60 meters at the World Indoor Championships and followed up with a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. Suddenly, he’s tied with three others as the fourth fastest man ever, and the newly-minted African record holder. His performance in Doha broke the 9.86 continental mark set by Frank Fredericks nearly 10 years ago in Lausanne.

But the night clearly belonged to Gatlin who has said throughout the spring that the world record was on his to-do list for 2006.

“I think everyone saw a good competitor in 2004 and 2005. But I think I was a little more aggressive this year. It came quicker than I thought.”

But this hardly means that his season is over. Gatlin said he’s now motivated to run even faster, perhaps even in a pair of upcoming appearances in the US. He is slated to compete at both the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., on May 28 and at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York City on June 3.

While he may not yet realize he’s now officially the world’s fastest man, his body has.

“My hamstring’s a little sore, my quad, and there’s a little pain in the lower part of my back,” Gatlin said, reeling off a quick list of some of the aftershocks. But Gatlin insists that there is no swelling in his head.

“I haven’t really got a big head from this,” he said. “I think I was more surprised [tonight] than anyone.”

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