Justin Gatlin: Ageless Wonder

[n_huffhines]

Couldn't find a thread about it, but Gatlin finished 2nd in IAAF WCs in Beijing, today.

Say what you will about his scandal*, the dude is amazing. His penalty was supposed to be a death sentence and here he is at 33 almost beating the GOAT sprinter. If he hadn't been competing against Bolt, we'd be talking about him as one of the greatest American sprinters of all time. It's a great story of redemption and I think Vols should embrace him.

He actually stumbled and might've won had he not.

*the rules are dumb but if breaking them gives you an edge you are cheating, imo

 

[allvol123]

Loses 9.8 to 9.79. So close.

I think he ran a 9.77 in an earlier race.

 

[MAD]

Bolt was very lucky to win.

 

[n_huffhines]

Now Gatlin has finished 2nd to Bolt in 200m

 

[n_huffhines]

Pretty safe to assume Vols aren't ready to embrace him?

 

[volfanbill]

19.57 200m in the US Outdoor back in June. Just insanse. was hoping he could bring down Bolt. The '16 Olympics could be a lot of fun.

 

[hndog609]

The problem with any sprinters in recent history is Bolt is simply a freak even among freaks. Going all the way back to the 60's the biggest drop in 100m times was from 9.84 to 9.79 (.05) for Maurice Green beating Donovan Bailey's record. ('99) It was at 9.74 before Bolt came along and ripped off 9.72, 9.69 & the still simply absurd 9.58. So from 1968 to 2007 the time dropped from 9.95 to 9.74, that's .21 in 39 years. Bolt personally knocked .16 off in 2 years. Even now the next fastest time lags a whole .11 behind. It's ridiculous.

It's crazier in the 200m. From '68 to present there's only been 4 record holders. When Michael Johnson in 1996 knocked a whole .4 seconds off a time that had stood since 1979 it seemed otherworldly. That 19.32 stood until '09 when Bolt went 19.19. Yohan Blake is the only other name even in the conversation as he's the only other person to best Johnson's time but he's still a full .07 off Bolt's record.

Time will catch Bolt of course but his best is simply far beyond that of his peers in the era in which he lived.