Men's 100 starts with Bolt, Blake and ... Gatlin

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Men's 100 starts with Bolt, Blake and ... Gatlin

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It seems everyone has an opinion about who's going to win.

04 August,2012 11:49 am

All anyones talking about ahead of the mens 100 meters is the showdown between Olympic champion Usain Bolt and world champion Yohan Blake, a pair of Jamaicans who train together.As the blue ribbon athletics event of the London Games gets started with opening heats Saturday, it seems everyone has an opinion about whos going to win and the answers tend to be Bolt or Blake.There are, however, other contenders. Theres the third Jamaican in the field, Asafa Powell. Theres U.S.-record holder Tyson Gay, surgically repaired hip and all. And there even is another past Olympic champion, Justin Gatlin of the U.S., who walked off the stage in Athens eight years ago with the 100 gold.But in 2006, Gatlin tested positive for excessive testosterone, leading to a four-year ban that prevented him from defending his title in Beijing.Now 30, his prime years perhaps in the past, Gatlin has picked up his career. And he still believes he has a chance of reclaiming his crown, even if he readily admits its a remote one.There are other guys out there who have the upper hand on me since Ive been gone for four years, said Gatlin, who won the 100 at the U.S. trials in June. Its going to be an uphill fight for me to claw to the top.Just as tough has been enduring all the negative talk, the gist of which is: Once a doper, always a doper.He knows he cant change that perception.Hes stopped trying.Look, Ive turned the page, but its a part of my book, he said. I can never close the door on the past four years and say never Ill never look at it, because thats where a lot of my strengths have come from and a lot of my bravery.During his ban from the sport, Gatlin found himself relying on unemployment checks to make ends meet.Going through the struggle I went through not only humbled me in my lifestyle but strengthened me as a person, he said. I was able to turn into a man and understand what it is to not know where your income comes from. Because everything just pretty much imploded.Steadily, hes picking up the pieces.Hes also regaining the form that made him an Olympic champion. Hes shed weight, dropping about nine kilograms (20 pounds) over the last year to get down to a little more than 81 kilograms (180 pounds), and changed coaches, switching to Dennis Mitchell.I remember reading a blog site, where one blogger said I looked like a professional wrestler on the track, Gatlin said. I was that big.The challenge now for Gatlin and for everyone else in the race is finding a way to get past Bolt, whose height helps him get to the finish line with fewer steps.Hes going to cover more ground, Gatlin said. So youre going to have to compensate somewhere else, being with strength or turnover. But Tyson beat him (in 2010), so that gives a lot of other runners, who are brave to go out there, confidence.Much more recently, Blake beat Bolt, too, at the Jamaican trials.I dont really want to say hes vulnerable, Gay said. Hes the only guy whos been where we havent been. I think he still has to be one of the favorites. Hes the champion and knows what it takes to compete on this level.He certainly does.Bolt, after all, won the 100 and 200 at the Beijing Olympics, both in record time. He still owns both sprints marks, including 9.58 he ran in the 100 at the 2009 world championships.Not everyone likes his chances in London, though.Maurice Greene, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 100, thinks Blake is simply too strong right now.Technically, hes better, Greene said. You win and lose through your technique, and Usain has been having technical problems for the last two years. He hasnt fixed it since then. ... I dont see him fixing it now. You have to go with (Blake).Gatlin, meanwhile, could be in the mix for a medal.At least thats how he pictures things.You always see these epic photos or short clips, where the whole stadium is dark and dim and then it goes really quiet, Gatlin said. You see eight guys in the starting blocks, (the gun goes off), and the stadium lights up like a nights sky with photography. ... Its so special. Im so glad I get to be a part of this now.