Justin Gatlin hungry for success at Rio Olympics
Gatlin has set the two fastest times this year and he is real threat to two-time champion Usain Bolt
RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 5, 2016 (AFP) - US sprinter Justin Gatlin said he was "hungry" for success on Friday as he prepares to take on Usain Bolt for what would be a highly controversial second Olympic crown.
Gatlin has twice served doping bans in his career, meaning a 100m or 200m win against the popular Bolt would be polarising -- especially after Russia s athletics team was suspended over a drugs scandal.
Gatlin, 34, has set the two fastest times this year and he is a real threat to two-time defending champion Bolt, whose build-up has been troubled by a hamstring injury.
He said he was taking a simple approach to what will be his third Olympics, after he won the 100m in 2004, missed 2008 with a drugs ban and returned to take bronze in 2012.
"I m just going to go out and do what I need to do," he told reporters at the US track and field team s training base near Copacabana.
"This Olympics is going to be special. I know everyone s going to bring their A-game so I ve got to make sure I m ready."
When asked how he was feeling, Gatlin told reporters: "Hungry."
"This is my third Olympics so I m bringing the fun, care-free Justin Gatlin from 2004 and the honoured-to-be-here Justin Gatlin from 2012, kind of mixed together," he said.
"When I go out there I m just going to celebrate and have a great time."
Gatlin set personal bests over both 100m and 200m last year, raising eyebrows after Norwegian researchers found in 2014 that the effects of performance-enhancing drugs could last for decades.
He looked favourite to beat Bolt at last year s world championships over 100m, but was ultimately undone in both sprints by commanding performances from the Jamaican.
It was perhaps just as well after Britain s Sebastian Coe, now head of athletics body the IAAF, said the prospect of giving Gatlin a world championships gold medal made him "queasy".
But Gatlin said he was inspired to continue competing by fans urging him on through social media.
"The fans, just giving well-wishes through social media, just hoping I come out here and do what I need to do as an American and as an athlete," he said, when asked how he found the drive to stay at the top of his sport.
"That s what gives me the drive to keep going forward."
Gatlin is not America s only drug-tainted sprinter. LaShawn Merritt -- who served a 21-month ban for testing positive for a banned steroid in 2010 -- could threaten Bolt over 200m.
And Tyson Gay returns as a member of the 4x100m relay squad after completing a one-year suspension for testing positive for a banned steroid.
