Justin Gatlin

Powell, renowned for his blistering speed having held the 100m world record at 9.77 and 9.74s, missed out on the opportunity to join the likes of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt in that record-breaking relay team due to a groin injury sustained during the final of the 100m.

Gatlin, reflecting on the potential of the Jamaican squad, speculated that adding Powell to the mix could have propelled them to an astonishing 36.5-second mark.

"Adding Asafa Powell to that already formidable lineup of Bolt, Blake, Carter, and Frater could have pushed the team to an even faster time," Gatlin remarked on his podcast. Powell's absence, while the team still delivered Olympic gold, left room for speculation on just how much quicker they could have been.

Gatlin, a seasoned sprinter himself, understands the unique pressure and responsibility that comes with relay events. "There is a difference between being an individual runner at the Olympics or world championships and being part of a relay team," he explained. "If you falter as an individual, it's on you; but in a relay, it's on the country's back."

Reflecting on the challenges of breaking a world record in relay events, Gatlin emphasized the need for everything to align perfectly. "36.8 is a gigantic order. 37 low is a tall order," he admitted. "Everyone needs to be in peak condition and ready to run."

Looking ahead to the future, Gatlin also weighed in on Team USA's chances of breaking the 12-year-long Jamaican 4x100m relay world record in 2024. "It's going to take a near-perfect performance from a team firing on all cylinders to surpass what Jamaica achieved in 2012," Gatlin predicted.

Heading into the championships, Bolt, who was recovering from injury, was short on fitness with many doubting his capacity to hit top gear.  It would have taken a brave man to bet against the Jamaica sprint king but some were convinced an upset was on the cards as the American had looked imperious.  Heading into the event, Gatlin had dominated opponents all season to put together a 28-race win streak.

“I was totally not the favourite this time,  I could tell that,” Bolt said in an interview with India media outlet Power Sportz.

“This was the first time Justin Gatlin was going to have me chasing after him (wearing favourite tag).  But, when I knew he was nervous was when I went into the warm-up area and he was talking to me.  That was strange, he never speaks to me.  So, it clicked to me that he was nervous as well because this was the first time we were ever going to compete and he was favourite.”

In the end, Bolt only just came past a faltering Gatlin at the death to snatch victory by one-hundredth of a second.  Well short of his best, but good enough for gold.

“I happy but you couldn’t see it on my face because it was so much pressure that came off me.  I just thought, thank you.  For me, that was one of the hardest races I’ve run in my life.”

Some of the world’s best athletes, most of them Nike-sponsored, descended on Fort Worth to compete, reportedly in a bid to preserve the value of their professional contracts.

According to sources, under the terms of their contracts, the athletes are obligated to compete in at least 10 sanctioned races for the year. If they do not, they stand to lose money from their multi-million-dollar contracts.

In response, meets were created, the first of which was held today, that will allow the athletes to fulfil those obligations and as a result, save themselves millions of dollars.

Williams, who earlier this year signed a five-year contract with Nike believed to be valued at several million dollars, competed in the 60m, 100m, 150m, 250 and 300m races. She clocked 7.68 for the 60m, 12.43 for the 100m, 18.74 for the 150m, 38.31 over 250 and 46.56 for 300m.

Norman ran 7.96 for the 60m, 9.86 for the 100m, 34.82 for the 250 and 44.90 for 300m. His 100m time puts him in a pantheon of two, the number of athletes who would have run sub-10s, sub-20 for the 200m and sub-44 for the 400m.

Justin Gatlin, the 2017 100m World 100m champion, also competed at the meet setting times of 6.84 for 60m, 10.84 for the 100m, 15.93 for 150m, 32.53 for 250m and 42.32 for 300m.

In the men’s 100m, 400m hurdler Rai Benjamin ran an impressive 10.03 a massive personal best for the World Championship silver medallist. Ronnie Baker of the USA was third in 10.23.

Dexter Mitchell, the organizer for the meet set for April 4, 2020, at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium in Grenada, also confirmed the participation of world-record holder Kendra Harrison, Olympic and World champion Justin Gatlin, and 2019 long-jump world champion Tajay Gayle.

The impressive line-up also includes hometown hero Kirani James, Blessing Okagbare, Aaron Brown, Zharnel Hughes, and Asafa Powell for what Mitchell said would be the best meet yet.

“In its fourth year the Grenada Invitational will be the most competitive and exciting of our four meets,” he said of the meet that will also see the likes of 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake and Grenadian decathlete Lindon Victor in competition.

“In an Olympic year, we have been able to assemble a stellar cast of world-class athletes and with our World Athletes World Continental Tours Silver designation, the expectation is for delivery of a World Class event.”

In recent weeks, the Coronavirus has spread to 111 countries and has infected more than 100,000 people across the globe, killing more than 3000 of them. It is against this background that the Local Organising Committee of the relays has taken what they have described as a difficult decision.

“After extensive deliberations with local public health officials, our broadcast partners, sponsors and athletes representatives, it was determined that the paramount importance of the health of our citizens and the expected influx of travellers (athletes, etc) warranted us to err on the side of caution,” organisers said in a statement today.

“As such, in light of the fluidity and uncertainty related to (COVID-19), it has become necessary to postpone the 4th annual Grenada Invitational that was scheduled for April 4th, 2020.

“The improbability and flexibility of the situation changes from day to day and these uncertainties are sure to hinder in the delivery of a World Class event.”

Some of the world’s best track and field athletes were down to compete at the Grenada Invitational as they gear up for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan that is also under threat because of the spread the virus that has seen thousands of Japanese citizens being infected.

Schools in that country have been ordered closed and public gatherings have been banned until the end of April when the International Olympic Committee is expected to make a final decision on whether the Games will be held.

Similarly, the organisers of the Grenada Invitational said they will decide if and when the meet will be held this year.

“Grenada Invitational will, as the rest of the sporting world, monitor the global conditions and along with track and field’s governing body, World Athletics and our broadcast partner, a new date for the meet will be announced once the (COVID-19) is no longer a threat and normalcy in travel and other routine activities is returned,” the statement said.

Elaine Thompson-Herah, the 2016 double Olympic champion, 2011 World Champion Yohan Blake, and Olympic and World Champion Kirani James were to be among the headliners at the meet this year as the organizers had begun to assemble a world-class field of athletes for the meet.

Also confirmed were the likes of Briana Williams, Kendra Harrison, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, and Tajay Gayle.

Among those reported to be competing at Kingston’s National Stadium is 100m world champion Christian Coleman and world champion and world record holder Dalilah Mohammed as well as Jamaica’s first-ever world long jump champion Tajay Gayle.

Local heroes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah as well as Fedrick Dacres and Danielle Thomas-Dodd are also likely participants at the meet that will have a silver designation in the newly minted Continental World Series.

Also among the names to be announced at a press conference expected to be held sometime next week are world championship 400m bronze medallists Shericka Jackson and Rushell Clayton as well as 200m medallists Andre DeGrasse, Shaunae Miller and world champion Noah Lyles.

Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic and 2017 100m world champion are also expected to compete against the likes of 2011 world champion Yohan Blake.

Shanieka Ricketts and Danielle Williams are also set to compete.

The meet organisers are also said to be in negotiations with a number of other elite athletes as they look to make up for the cancellation of the 2019 edition of the former World Challenge meet.

The sprinter enjoyed a long career tinged with success but also with controversy.  Gatlin announced his retirement via social media platform Instagram, via a post entitled ‘Dear Track’.

“I have loved you track. You gave me tears of sadness and of joy, lessons learned that will never be forgotten,” Gatlin wrote.

“The torch is passed but the love will never fade. On your mark, get set … Gone!”

The athlete who won 100m gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was one of few to register wins at the highest level over Jamaica superstar Usain Bolt.  He went to complete a 100m and 200m sprint double at the World Championships in Helsinki, in 2005, he then won 100m gold at the 2017 Worlds in London, handing the big Jamaican sprinter a rare defeat at a major Games.

Gatlin was also, however, plagued by doping suspension, his first coming in 2001 and arising from the use of Adderall, which contains amphetamine. He had been using the drug since childhood to treat attention deficit disorder.

A second positive test in 2006 found excessive levels of testosterone in his system.  He was banned for eight years for that offense, later reduced to four years on appeal.

Bolt, who remains the world record holder over both the 100 and 200 metres, retired from the sport in 2017.  His rivalry with the American, though statistically, a tad one-sided at times, was one of the most abiding and, at times, fiercest in the sport of track and field, particularly when the two-faced the starter at major games.

On the biggest stage, it was Gatlin who triumphed in the first two encounters.  Bolt failed to advance past the first round at the 2004 Olympics and it was Gatlin who went on to claim the 200m title, adding to 100m crown, which was won prior.

One year later, Gatlin left the Jamaican far behind in the 200m final to take the sprint double at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki.  The two did not face off at the 2007 World Championship as Gatlin was banned from the sport for four years after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006.  On that occasion, Bolt finished second to another American Tyson Gay.

From 2008, however, it was Bolt who became the premier force in world sprinting and outside of the rare blip in Osaka 2011, where he false-started in the 100m, when undefeated at major games for almost 9 years.  Gatlin returned to the sport in 2010 but found it impossible to get the better of the Jamaican.  He was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 2011 World Championships, placed third at 2012 Olympics, was second at the 2013 World Championships.  Gatlin again finished runner-up to Bolt in both the 100m and 200m at the 2015 World Championships and again took silver at Rio Olympics in 2016. 

The American did, however, manage to turn the tables on Bolt at the 2017 World Championships where he claimed gold, with the Jamaican finishing in third place in the final race before he retired. 

  “Justin Gatlin played a very important role in keeping me motivated because he kept me on my toes, he kept me working out,” Bolt explained during Puma's Only See Great campaign.

“He kept me knowing that every season he’s going to be there, if I want to be the best I have to be ready and be prepared to beat him," he added.

Overall, the Jamaican leads the head-to-head match-up between the athletes with a 9-2 advantage, but he admits with Gatlin and others around he always had to look over his shoulder.

"The rivalries were strong and for me Tyson and Justin and Asafa and Blake, they really pushed me through my career to stay on top of my game at all times to be the best me."

The most recent to sing the Mommy Rocket’s praises were Olympic and World Champion Justin Gatlin and co-host Rodney Green on their Ready Set Go Podcast.

Since she won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, Fraser-Pryce has gone on to have one of the most dominating careers in track and field history. Her win in Beijing made her first Jamaican woman to win Olympic 100m gold. Her follow-up victory in 2012 made her only the third woman to win back-to-back Olympic titles joining other greats Wyoma Tyus and Gail Devers of the USA to accomplish the feat.

Winning the world 100 title in Berlin in 2009, saw her become the first woman to hold Olympic and World titles simultaneously, a feat she would accomplish twice after victories in London in 2012 and Moscow in 2013.

Feats such as these are why Green lamented her decision to hang up her spikes after what will be her fifth Olympic campaign in Paris this summer.

“Man, we ‘bout to lose a female juggernaut of our sport, man, a staple. I mean, I think in her country they should, I don't know if a statue would do or they should name a track or something, man. Man, we going to lose Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce this year, man, this is our last year around the world, you know, competing. What do you think about that?

(Jamaica unveiled a statue of Fraser-Pryce at Independence Park in Kingston in 2018.)

In response, Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100m champion and 2005 and 2017 World Champion, lauded the Jamaica superstar for her work on and off the track, stating, “Man, Shelly-Ann has been such an inspiration to the sport for so long. Watching her make her first Olympic team in 2008 and her dominance for so many years into the sport and watching her grow. She was out there in the world and watching her mature into the powerful, successful woman she is now, hat’s off to her. She deserves everything.”

Gatlin, who enjoyed a fierce rivalry against Fraser-Pryce’s contemporary, Usain Bolt, made reference to her fierce rivalry with compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah and what it did to bring energy to the sport.

“We wish she could run many, many more years because she is the kind of person that rises to the occasion,” said Gatlin of the Jamaican who has only once failed to win a 100m medal in a global championship. That was in 2011 when she finished fourth in the 100m final in Daegu, South Korea.

Fraser-Pryce won 100m gold at the World Championships in 2007, 2009, 2013, 2019 and 2022. She was third at the most recent championships in Budapest, Hungary. She missed the 2017 championship because she was pregnant with her son Zyon.

“Watching her duke it out with Elaine (Thompson-Herah) throughout the years,” Gatlin continued, “they’d be seeing who would get to 10-7 first and then who would get to 10-6, and it made for pure entertainment because they both rose to the occasion.”

Green then chimed in clarifying that Fraser-Pryce not only battled with her Jamaican counterpart but also with the very best the USA had to offer.

“Elaine is just the recent one. She battled with many people that banged, like Carmelita Jeter. She went back and forth with Jet, man. She went back and forth with Veronica Campbell from her own country and the late great Tori (Bowie).”

 Gatlin then said, “She battled every elite female in this era.”

“Juggernauts, 10-6, 10-7 women through time, man,” Green remarked. “Like she has been amazing to our sport, she has been graceful to our sport. She has been nothing but a class act and I just think she will definitely be missed.

“I think as she makes her rounds this year, around the world, farewell tour, every country she goes, win or loss, when she runs, they should let her do a lap man, because this is the last time we’re going to get to see an amazing athlete grace track and field; the Mommy Rocket. It’s sad to see her go but I understand why she has to go.”

In a recently published interview with Essence Magazine, the 37-year-old Fraser-Pryce explained that her decision to retire after the Olympic Games in Paris stems from her wanting to dedicate more time to her family.

“There’s not a day I’m getting up to go practise and I’m like, ‘I’m over this’,” she said. “My son needs me. My husband and I have been together since before I won in 2008. He has sacrificed for me.

“We’re a partnership, a team. And it’s because of that support that I’m able to do the things that I have been doing for all these years. And I think I now owe it to them to do something else.”

Gatlin said he understood her decision.

"She said she owes it to her family to do something else now, especially her husband said she's been competing from 2008.She's been married for some time now for her husband and her child too. She owes it to them to just do something else and that's very honorable. Absolutely.

"I mean, when you when you are an athlete of her stature, your time is limited because your focus is on your own success, because that's what got you to where you're at, and you try to kind of juggle or balance family time, personal life around your successful career but everything, everything in your life is kind of floating around track, so now it's like with her son becoming older and having more time to be able to be a wife and a mom that's important.”