Internet Desk: How desperate is Justin Gatlin to beat his arch-nemesis, the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt?
Gatlin, forever the also runner to the Jamaican sensation, has stoked up his looming Rio Olympics rivalry with Bolt by surpassing Usain’s 100m world record.
The American bronze Olympian and second-place getter at last year’s World Championships ran 9.45 seconds to slip inside Bolt’s record time of 9.58s set in 2009.
But Gatlin had plenty of help for his audacious stunt which was done on Japanese TV gameshow Kasupe! for a fee of of ¥2million ($A24,434).
Gatlin had a giant fan placed behind him on the start line and four other fans were tactically put alongside his lane further down the track. He was literally blown to the finish line with the wind estimated at 32km/h – four times the legal limit.
The artificial wind assistance Gatlin received for the stunt might make followers of atheltics news cringe.
Gatlin was banned from athletics in 2001 for testing positive for obesity. He was banned again in 2006 for doping.
Meanwhile, the coach of sprinter Justin Gatlin has stepped down as the head of the United States relay squads just months ahead of the Rio Olympics, due to a change in USA Track and Field’s criteria.
Dennis Mitchell, who served a doping ban in 1999, said on Monday that he had learned he fell outside new guidelines for coaching America’s relay teams and had decided to step down.