Justin Gatlin said USA was winning 123 at the Rio Olympics
Justin Gatlin came up just short of qualifying for the 200-meter final. (Getty)
RIO DE JANEIRO For a man who has spent this week booed, catcalled, hissed, demonized, vilified, slung and arrowed, Justin Gatlin sounded remarkably sanguine. He had just lost in the semifinals of the 200-meter dash, a stunning exit that robbed the Olympic Stadium crowd an opportunity to take all of the love it lavishes upon Usain Bolt and deliver Gatlin the inverse. Every hero needs a villain. He is the Rio Games.
The rivalry I have with Usain has turned it into a professional wrestling feel, Gatlin said. Everyones cheering for Usain, but they have somebody theyve got to boo against.
He was smiling when he said this. He smiles when he says pretty much anything. He smiled when asked about the fans who made him an Iron Sheik-style heel, the embodiment of ugly America, Dopey McDoperson, and he said: You cant ask for a better or more exciting crowd.
There is a chance that Justin Gatlin has perfected the art of artifice, that he knows by now sprinkling sugar on top of anything makes it better, no matter how foul. Or maybe Gatlin really is speaking the truth when he says he feels no animus toward the Brazilian crowd and, really, the one worldwide, too that experienced a surge of schadenfreude when over the last 20 meters his temperamental ankle locked up and torpedoed his crack at another Olympic medal.
For 10 years now, Gatlin has worn the scarlet D. There is no greater sin in track and field than doping, and twice Gatlin was caught with something in his blood that wasnt supposed to be. The first time it was amphetamines. He said they were for ADD. The second time was for testosterone. He said a massage therapist rubbed him with illicit cream. Both stories may well be true. Neither matters. Nuance is one thing, doping another, and never the twain shall meet.
And so Gatlin lives this odd existence where he does something he loves knowing plenty hate him for doing it.
It would be an immature mindset for me to come out here and think that every Brazilian is against me, Gatlin said. They want to see a great show, and Usain is a great competitor and a showman. He puts on a great show. For me, when I ran here earlier last month mano a mano, one of the fans gave me a flag. I instantly tied it to my book bag, and I still have it tied to my book bag, a Brazilian flag. I get a lot of love here.
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The other baddie of the Games non-Ryan Lochte division was Yulia Efimova, the Russian swimmer whose situation mirrored Gatlins. Illicit substances showed up in tests twice. The doping accusations chased her. She was called out by Lilly King, then beaten for a gold medal by King, then said this felt like a resurrection of the Cold War, then brought into question Michael Phelps, then said she didnt trust any Americans, and by the end, Efimova had only reinforced her villainy when in all likelihood shes no dirtier than plenty of her competitors.
Rather than fight the doping furor, Gatlin chose to embrace it, and thats what one would expect from a 34-year-old with some wisdom and perspective and, most important, a predilection toward forgiveness. Its not easy to be angry all the time. Its a monstrous burden to carry. And, sure, some athletes may channel that anger toward better performances, but the mental weight can be neither cleaned nor jerked. It lingers, festers, burrows.
The aggrieved and righteously indignant didnt do in Gatlin on Wednesday. He blamed his issues on an ankle injury suffered in November. It never healed fully, he said, and it tightened up before the 200, days after it kept loose for the 100-meter dash and he won silver behind Bolt.
No matter how much the physiotherapists worked Gatlin before the 200, his Achilles felt wrong and the pain intensified on the turn, which was especially tight because of his Lane 3 positioning. Gatlin faded hard over the last 20 meters. Alonso Edward passed him and won the race. Churandy Martina, who lives across the street from Gatlin in Orlando, beat him by .03 seconds. Gatlins 20.13-second time ranked ninth among semifinalists. Eight make the finals.
I wasnt fully surprised, Bolt said. I thought he wouldve actually made it, but I could tell from the 100 meters that he was feeling the pain and was slowing down. Its just the fact that youre getting older.
For sprinters, 34 is grandfatherly, and the small patch of gray in Gatlins hair signifies his age (not to mention his relative lack of vanity). And yet the four-year ban for testosterone, Gatlin has said, allowed him to keep his legs strong and healthy and more like those of a 20-something. He feels good enough h**l be back next season. Hes even expecting to set a personal record in the 100.
Which, of course, would rekindle even more doping speculation. Gatlin knows he invited it with his history, and he knows as long as he runs, the scarlet D wont be far away. Its his reality.
Gatlin plays a pretty terrible bad guy, though. He wont speak ill of Brazil, wont punch back at the shots he absorbs, wont take the bait. Its impressive, actually, how Justin Gatlin knows the world wants to see him a certain way and refuses to hew to its narrative. Theres just one thing something hed love more than the medals and the personal bests and any accolades left that Justin Gatlin wants and never will get because forgiveness doesnt come easy: to be the hero.
- Sports & Recreation
- Justin Gatlin
- Usain Bolt
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/justin-gatlin-villain-rio-games-000000032.html
