OVER TO YOUNGSTERS AS JUSTIN GATLIN ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT

Speaking to BBC journalist Ade Adedoyin at the 2019 IAAF Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, the 37-year-old sprinter Justin Gatlin ,100M  Olympic champion and two time 100m world champion said he aims to win gold at Tokyo 2020 as his final act in athletics.

“I want to leave on an Olympic cycle. My goal is to get to 2020 and get on top of that podium. If it ends well, if it doesn’t, I want to be able to leave my spikes on the track and say I am done,” Gatlin is reported to have said.

Retirement would bring to an end a controversial career that included an Olympic gold medal in the 100m race at Athens 2004, then an eight-year ban for doping.

The U.S. sprinter returned to Olympic action at London 2012 but spent the next six years in the shadow of Usain Bolt,who won 100m gold at Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016.

While Gatlin did defeat Usain Bolt in the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London – Bolt’s last ever official individual race – the USA sprinter is determined to end his career with another Olympic gold medal.

On 1 July Gatlin proved he’s still seriously fast, clocking 9.87s at the Prefontaine Classic in Stanford, California, only 0.06 seconds behind winner Christian Coleman.

“I was not really surprised by my good performance at Stamford – Gatlin said – I was trying to put a race pattern together after injury there, and to put on a good show for audience as I don’t get to race for US audience very often.”

“Getting older or age doesn’t change much about training in the run up to Doha – he added – I like where competition in sprints currently stands now. There is no clear favourite always, and you have to wait to see who the winner is, which I like a lot.”