LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Justin Gatlin once was a force in the 100 meters, winning gold medals at the 2004 Olympics and 2005 world championships, then tying the world record in 2006. But he lost his share of the record and his livelihood after testing positive for synthetic testosterone.
Gatlin maintained then and now that he “unknowingly” received the banned substance from a massage cream. His four-year suspension ended last year, and he is attempting a comeback at age 29.
When he was suspended, Gatlin was coached by Trevor Graham, who has since been banned by USA Track and Field. Now Gatlin trains here under Brooks Johnson.
“It’s been going good,” Gatlin said. “Working with Brooks, he makes you look at the bigger picture, not rush, be patient. With a little more leg work, leg strength, I can be right where I need to be.”
Johnson has given Gatlin the goal of running a good time this year and “stellar” times next year. Gatlin also wants to make this year’s world championships and next year’s Olympics, which in both cases would require finishing in the top three at the national championships.
He ran in a handful of races last year but didn’t compete in a marquee event until last month’s Penn Relays. If other athletes resented his presence, they didn’t show it.
“The reception was very warm,” Gatlin said. “They got a lot of heated questions in the press conference room, and they handled it like ladies and gentlemen. They were like, ‘Hey, we’re here to run, we’re here to compete. Everything in the past is in the past. What’s done is done.’ That made me feel good, really made me feel welcome, and it really makes me want to be a team player.”
Hurdler David Oliver said training alongside Gatlin has helped him improve his starts, and he doesn’t worry that Gatlin’s presence could lead to suspicions about others in the training group.
“Whenever you run fast, no matter who you are, where you’re from, what your training situation is, everybody is going to say you’re on steroids,” Oliver said. “I would not be the slightest bit surprised if people were saying I was on some performance enhancers because I ran the American record.”
Oliver knows his heavily muscled upper body might raise questions with people who don’t know he played football at Howard University.
“People can throw out blanket statements, but if you do any due diligence, you can see I’ve been over 205 pounds since I was, like, 18 years old, running at Howard University,” Oliver said. “I was much bigger in ’05 than I am now.”
