GANNETT NEWS SERVICE MULTIMEDIA                                                                    Olympics home | E-mail feedback

August 22, 2004 10:17 pm

Nice guy finishes first this time

By DICK PATRICK

USA TODAY

ATHENS, Greece — As sprinters go, Justin Gatlin could get lost in the shuffle of intimidating stares, trash talking or flamboyance.

All he does is win, whether at Pensacola Woodham, where his sprinting and hurdling took the team to a Florida title, or at Tennessee, where as a freshman and sophomore he won the NCAA 100-meter and 200 titles.

On Sunday, when the majority of attention was on defending champion Maurice Greene, training partner Shawn Crawford and Jamaica's Asafa Powell, Gatlin added the Olympic 100 title to his collection.

"I came here to win the gold medal," said Gatlin, who ran a personal best 9.85 seconds to edge Portugal's Francis Obikwelu (9.86), U.S. teammate Greene (9.87), Crawford (9.89) and Powell (9.94). "I've done it all my career. I'll continue to do it.

"If you have talent and character, the public will love you. I want to show character exists in track and field. You don't have to be cocky or mean or self-centered. I want to prove there's likeable people in track and field."

He was in tears afterward on an exuberant victory lap that included hugs with fans and competitors. "I said, "Do you realize what you just did?' " Crawford said. "He just started crying or something. He was just so happy he won. He's the 2004 Olympic gold medalist. It's hard to put words to that. He couldn't really respond, just tears of joy came out of his eyes."

Gatlin gave his laurel wreath to a representative of his shoe company Nike and mentioned his high school coach, Jay Cormier. "He thought I was world champion material," Gatlin said. "Without him, I wouldn't be here."

His parents, Willie Gatlin, an ex-Army sergeant now a dean of discipline at a Pensacola school, and Jeanette Gatlin, who owns a women's accessory store, were in the crowd and attended the postrace news conference.

"His high school coach wanted him to be a hurdler," Jeanette said. "He said sprinters were a dime a dozen. He thought a hurdler with Justin's speed could be the best."

Greene, seeking to defend his Olympic title, would like to have Gatlin in the hurdles. Greene in lane 7, four lanes to the outside of Gatlin in lane 3, didn't sense the victory during the race.

"I couldn't feel Shawn and (Obikwelu) over in the middle. I didn't know where they were. So, maybe that was the cause of me not getting the gold medal, but that's no excuse.

"The guy that executes the race best is going to win. Justin and Obikwelu executed better than I did today. I ran the best race I could."

Gatlin, 22, thinks better times are ahead. His reply to Crawford's assertion that Gatlin ran a flawless race:

"I didn't run a flawless race. He didn't run a flawless race. I think we can run 9.7."

The world record is 9.78, held by Tim Montgomery, facing a lifetime ban for drug involvement that might cost him the record, which would revert to Greene's 9.79.

Greene, who has G-O-A-T tattooed on his arm for Greatest of All Time, was asked if he was still the greatest. "Of course," he said. "My stats speak for themselves. I have numerous things that I've accomplished, and I don't think there's another sprinter out there that's accomplished the things I have. I'm making it hard for the next person to come along and to do things better than me. I'm making it hard for them."

He might be the greatest. But Gatlin is the latest.

ADVERTISEMENT