Justin Gatlin to focus on 200M at USA Outdoor Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – Even when a bystander for the men's 100 meters, as will be the case at this week's USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, Justin Gatlin still feels the nervousness and anxiety of pre-race competitiveness.
"Even when I'm not even watching it live, or at home, I feel the butterflies," Gatlin said. "I feel the adrenaline rush."
Those jitters will be unfounded, if entirely unavoidable. With a bye in hand into the World Championships Aug. 22-30 in Beijing, the result of his status as the reigning Diamond League champion,
"Those guys are going to go out there and put on a good show," he said. "I want to see how exactly they're going to perform without me being in the race. I'm a fan of the sport, for one, so I want to go out and see what those guys can do. I'll be nervous for them and a little antsy at the same time."
The Gatlin-less men's 100, which holds initial heats on Thursday and its final on Friday, will nonetheless feature a strong class of American sprinters, including Tyson Gay, who won the event at the Adidas Grand Prix earlier this month, and Baylor University's Trayvon Bromell.
Yet Gatlin's absence robs the race of not just the top American hopeful for 100-meter gold at next summer's Rio Games but perhaps the top sprinter in the world – one who has posted the world's fastest 100 in 2015, a personal-best 9.74 in Qatar in May, and in the process challenged Usain Bolt's often unquestioned status as the world's fastest man.
That, in turn, robs perhaps the marquee event at the Outdoor Championships of its most marquee name; the race loses star power and luster, leaving Gay, Bromell and others in competition to replace a Gatlin-size void.
For Gatlin himself, however, the opportunity to bypass the 100 and focus entirely on the 200 meters has immediate and long-term benefits. There's a chance to regroup mentally: "It's definitely going to give me less grays in my hair," he said.
It's also provides a window of time to rest his body, which has been taxed by a run of unparalleled success during the 2015 season. Gatlin followed up his time in Qatar with a 9.75 in Rome in early June, and tied his personal best with a 19.68 in the 200 meters at the Prefontaine Classic in late May.
"This year is not getting into shape," Gatlin said. "I'm already in shape. It's about resting what needs to be. Right now is one of those times when I want to rest."
Gatlin's recent dominance – by far his best set of finishes since returning to competition in 2010 from a four-year doping ban – has placed him in even closer competition with Bolt, who has by his own admission struggled during an uneven 2015 season.
"Bolt's not up to par right now, and he's even said that," Gatlin said. "But at this point and time people want to see him get up to par and that's what he's focused on, and then worry about who's the guy to beat and who's the guy who's going to get beat.
"I want him at his best. I want him to go out there and push it to be the best he can be."
The two will meet in Beijing in August, with one, Bolt, looking to recapture his medal-winning form, and the other aiming to continue his torrid run of new personal bests.
"I wouldn't say I necessarily have a target on my back," Gatlin said, "but more like, say, I'm the one of the guys to watch out for."
PHOTOS: 2015 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships