American sprinter Justin Gatlin has announced his retirement at the age of 40, hanging up his points after a career marked by an Olympic gold medal in the 100m, multiple world titles and several suspensions due to doping. “I loved you, track. You gave me tears of sadness and joy, lessons that will never be forgotten. The torch has passed, but love will never be extinguished. Ready, set, go ! “wrote the athlete, in a message on his account Instagram.
Justin Gatlin has forged a record in almost twenty years, revealing himself to the eyes of the world at the Athens Games in 2004 by his victory won on the straight line, in 9′’85, establishing then the second best time of the Games history. The sprinter continued his ascent until he equaled the then world record (9’77) in Doha, Qatar, on May 12, 2006. Three months later, the American announced that he had tested positive for testosterone. He was suspended, five years after a first suspension in 2001 resulting at the time from a positive test for amphetamines.
Return to competition in 2010
He had then appealed, pleading a medical history (attention disorders diagnosed during childhood) which, according to him, forced him to take these substances. His second positive test, at the height of his glory, revealed excessive levels of testosterone in his body. He was suspended for eight years by the American anti-doping agency, a sanction miraculously reduced to 4 years on appeal by the American Court of Arbitration. His return to competition in 2010 created controversy.
In the meantime, a certain Usain Bolt has struck down the world of sprinting, winning almost all possible titles at the Olympic Games and Worlds between 2008 and 2016. Justin Gatlin is content with places of honor on the podiums.
He won bronze in the 100m at the 2012 London Olympics, then silver at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships, as well as at the 2016 Olympics. At the London Worlds in 2017, he took rare revenge on Bolt, by becoming a second time world champion in the 100m, at the age of 35, under the bronca of the public.
After winning a final gold medal with the American 4 x 100m relay at the Doha Worlds in 2019, he dreamed of finishing his career at the Tokyo Games last year, but a hamstring injury put him off. prevented during the selections in Eugene (Oregon).
One question remains: how was Gatlin able to run as fast at 35 as he did when he was doping? “I never had an injury and I found myself away from the sport for four years. My body has rested and feels like a 27-year-old, rather than a 33-year-old sprinter,” he told AFP in 2015. The mystery remains.
