News07 Nov 2003


Gatlin’s search for consistency - an interview with the World indoor champion and $500,000 Moscow winner

FacebookTwitterEmail

Justin Gatlin (USA) celebrates winning the men's 60m (© Getty Images)

Just a little over a year ago, Justin Gatlin made headlines in the Athletics world with his decision to leave collegiate competition behind to ply his trade in the professional ranks. Less than a year later, the young sprinter collected one of the sport's largest-ever paydays, having already claimed a World Indoor title, and finds himself on the pre-season short list of Olympic favourite.

Bob Ramsak has interviewed Gatlin exclusively for the IAAF internet.

$500,000 Moscow win

"It has [sunk in]," he said of his 10.05 100m win in late September's Moscow Challenge, a season-ending performance that netted him $500,000.  "It was one of the best races I had all season. I felt really complete, and even though it was really cold out there, about 46 degrees, it felt really good. I was able to concentrate and do what I had to do, even though it was the last race of the season."

But the huge payday, behind only Haile Gebrselassie's $1 milllion award for his World 10K road best last year, and Donovan Bailey's $1 million prize for winning a head-to-head 150m race with Michael Johnson in 1997 as the largest ever in the sport, was hardly the end-all for a sprinter who expects to be in the thick of things for many years to come.  "At the same time, I know that there are better things to come in the sport."

Still only 21, the Florida-native approaches his occupation with the seriousness befitting a professional, but adds to it a newfound, or, perhaps, more well-rounded maturity that came with his first full summer abroad.  Winning six of his 11 races, after injury ended his appearance at the US outdoor championships in the rounds, his season can certainly be described as a success, but for Gatlin, it was more a valuable learning experience. He soon learned that jetting around the continent on the professional circuit was a far cry from bus rides and short plane trips around the NCAA's Southeastern Conference.

"I've ran 10.0s and fast times in college before," said Gatlin, who in just two years in the collegiate ranks collected as many honours as others have in twice the time.  "And I thought it was the same thing. But you have to deal with travel, small rooms, different foods, things like that, things you're not used to dealing with on the college level. And you have to be able to step on the track and run the same times or close to your PR almost every time you run when you're a professional." 

Hamstring injury ahead of US Trials

Bouncing back from injury was another item on the "to learn" list.  A Hamstring problem knocked him out of his professional outdoor debut at the Mexico Grand Prix, and played a major role in keeping him off the US team for the World Championships. "It was a wake up call for me," he said a few weeks later, but added that patience was as important a factor for success as experience. "I'm young, I have a lot of years ahead of me.  A lot of the guys out there are 25, 27, pushing 30.  I'm still 21."

His road back began quietly with a narrow 10.32 win over Asafa Powell in Padova on July 6, and followed up with a 10.09 win in Rome's "B" race the following weekend, overcoming a slow start and again out-leaning the Jamaican.  "I still got a little rust," he said afterwards. Still managing his injury, Gatlin viewed his readiness at about 95%.  "I just need to get a little stronger in the last part of the race."

After a brief mid-summer break that afforded him the time to catch up on his fitness, he returned with a powerful 10.15 win in Stockholm, where, despite the loaded field, the only competition he faced in the latter half of the race was the stiff 2.4 mps headwind. "I felt like I was back to my old self. I knew I had to get inside myself to bring out the old Justin.  I ran 10.09 in Rome and some people were saying that it wasn't legit, and I wanted to come back and show them that I can come and win."

His form left many questioning the US World Championships selection procedure, but he was already prepping himself to watch the proceedings from the stands in the Stade de France.  "It's just not my time to be World champion.  I have many years ahead of me, and hopefully I can come out and do it again."

Early August slump

But three days later the roller coast hit another low point. Distracted by timing malfunctions and consequent delays, he was a distant fifth at the London Super Grand Prix on August 8, and two days later, finished 6th at Berlin's Super League meeting.

"That's where everything was all wrong," he said on the Crystal Palace race.  "I couldn't do anything about it, but at the same time I knew that I' m the one who can rise to an occasion, and didn't.  I think it crossed over to the Berlin meet.  I didn't feel right.  I stumbled out of the blocks.  I made up ground, but with the time that we ran, anybody could have won that race."  After his Berlin 10.33, his slowest race of the year, "I felt that a lot of people were doubting me.  I had to reevaluate myself.  I was like, 'man, what's going on.'  So I had to prove myself again at the next race."

Joining the sub-10 club

That next race was in Zurich, and he found a way to rise to the occasion. He joined the sub-10 club with a PB 9.97 win.  "That uplifted me," he said. Before I started the race, I knew that I could run in the 9s, I just didn't know when or where.  I just knew that the beginning of my race had to be much better that it usually is.  So when I got out there I was emotionally ready.  I was ready to run fast.  About thirty metres into the race, I was already leading and I just had to carry it through the race."

The sub-10 coming in Letzigrund Stadium made the experience that much sweeter.  "Zurich was the best," he said.  "I'm still learning a lot about the history of track and field, and Zurich is one of the biggest meets.  The crowds are really into it. You can feel them when you're on the track."

Van Damme 200 – a personal highlight

After a lackluster 10.17 fourth place showing in Helsinki came his personal highlight for the season, a 20.04 win in the Van Damme Memorial's 200m.

"That came without any 200m training," and, after a 10.09 runner-up finish in the 100m an hour earlier. "After the Mexico City race, I didn't even train for the 200 at all. My coach [Trevor Graham] and I stuck with the 100 for the whole season."

Before his big Moscow win came another disappointing performance, a 10.12 for fifth at the World Athletics Final in Monaco.  Recalling the race, he said, "I felt kind of tight in practice the day before, a little sluggish. I was trying to gather myself.  This whole season has been a good learning experience for me.  I was able to run, I was running good this season, but at the same time, I haven't felt myself.  And that was one of my races where I wasn't feeling like myself."

Consistency makes a champion

Being "himself" is what he'll be working on the most as he approaches 2004, along with improving his consistency.  "Consistency makes a champion. I know that.  And instead of having a good race and then having an OK race and than a good race and then a bad race, we're going to work on having just good races and great races."  Another goal, is to become a genuine star, "Where I'm always in the limelight or always in the spotlight, or am always the headliner.  To just bring that back to what I'm used to having back in college, and what Trevor's used to having out of his athletes."

Concentrating on the Olympics - no Indoor season

Like many athletes, Gatlin knows that any season brings with it a series of question marks.  The only certainty for him at them moment is that 2004 will not include any indoor competition, precluding a defence of his World 60m title.

"I'll strictly concentrate on the Olympic year, and the Olympic trials, and just concentrate on outdoors," he said.  His early outdoor season injury problems, he said, may have come from his transition from the indoor to outdoor seasons.  With an Olympic appearance penciled in his 2004 schedule, the potential risk is too great.

The decision to skip a possible trip to Budapest (World Indoors) wasn't a difficult one, particularly since he wasn't planning to compete indoors last year.

"I wasn't supposed to run indoors this past year, but I was so hyper to run something and prove myself out there that my coach let me run indoors." And missing the upcoming indoor campaign doesn't at all rule out future indoor competition.  "I'll hopefully come back after the Olympic year and become another World Indoor champion."
 
More 200s in 2004

2004 will also include more appearances in the 200, and a bid to double in Athens.

"We'll rebuild and focus on the 200 and 100," he said.  "We won't necessarily place a stronger emphasis on either distance.  I'll be able to gauge both of them and run them equally."

But he's also looking beyond Athens, hoping to add the new experiences he 's collected to what he's already learned thus far to build an epic career.

"I want to become a machine," he said bluntly, but earnestly.  "I want to go out there and incorporate some of the abilities I had as a college athlete where I could run a lot of races, different races, at the same meet, and still be able to run good times.  I want to incorporate that into what Trevor is teaching me as well, and run a lot of races, and a lot of good times.  And I just want to go out there and run 19s and 9s and it's no sweat off my back.  I'll be used to that."

Loading...