It should have been a race to celebrate one of the greatest athletes of all time. Instead, it turned into a night of dismay when Justin Gatlin stunned his critics at the World Championships in London.
The poster boy of track and field, Usain Bolt, took to the start line of his final 100M race before officially retiring. Gunning for a 12th world championship gold medal, the Jamaican was unable to deliver. Crossing the finish line in 9.95 seconds, Bolt came a distant third to win his first ever bronze medal. Beating him was Christian Colman and the controversial Gatlin.
In the immediate aftermath of Gatlin’s win, booing erupted throughout the London Olympic Stadium. Once again athletics has been haunted by its doping past. The 35-year-old previously served two doping bans. In 2001 he missed a year of the sport after testing positive for amphetamines, which he later explained he took for his ADHD. Then in 2006 outrage erupted when he tested positive for testosterone. Gatlin was initially handed an eight-year ban, but it was later reduced to four years. His explanation was that a massage therapist rubbed testosterone on his leg, an allegation they deny.
“Last time I checked, someone who takes medication for a disorder is not a doper,” the 35-year-old once told The Guardian about his first ban.
“I have stuck to my story so far, and I have been honest with that,” he later added about his second.
Known as the villain of the sport, the American has remained defiant. Some have argued that he shouldn’t have been allowed to return. Even when he made an honourable gesture following his 100m triumph by bowing down to Bolt, it failed to win over the London crowd. Who turned from an atmosphere of jubilation to one of anger.
“It’s not all about the crowd, I tuned it out throughout the rounds. I stayed the course, I keep my energy through the semis and I did what I had to do.” The new 100M champion told the BBC.
"The people who love me, they are here cheering for me."
In recent years athletics has been trying to redeem their image as a clean sport. Russia is currently banned from competing in IAAF competitions after an investigation discovered a comprehensive state-sponsored doping programme that has been in use for many years. Then on the eve of the championships, two Ukrainian athletes - Olesya Povh and Olha Zemlyak - were provisionally suspended for doping violations.
The impact of the controversies has created headaches for Sebastian Cole, the head of the sport's governing body. Public confidence has decreased according to a survey by strategic communications consultancy, the Brewery at Freuds. A survey of 2000 British people in 2017 found that 20% have ‘no trust’ in athletics and 38% believe widespread doping occurs in the sport.
The scandals of the past continue to infuriate athletes who completed their career without doping. Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson was not afraid to speak his mind about Gatlin’s rise in London. The American does have empathy for his compatriots first failed test, but it falls short of endorsing him.
“I got a problem with any athlete who has doped. It doesn’t matter if it is two or one (failed test).” He said.
“As far as Gatlin is concerned, I think most people are just going to want it (his career) to be over. They are sort of tired of it and ready to move on.”
The world of athletics finds themselves at a crossroads. From 2018 they will be without two of their main stars, Bolt and Mo Farah (who will retire this year). They do have a group of athletes ready to fill those places, but it is too costly for Gatlin to be one of them. One villain in a sport makes it interesting, but too many can be deadly. An prospect the IAAF continues to fear.
