"Justin Gatlin spit across my Lane" - Usain Bolt opens up on his first head to head race against the American

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Nov 02, 2024 11:53 GMT

Usain Bolt recently recounted the high-stakes moment of his first face-off against Justin Gatlin, detailing the intense atmosphere. Bolt locked horns with the former American sprinter in the early stage of his illustrious career.

While Bolt has had a career that can be described as nothing less than legendary, Gatlin too had his share of triumphs and remarkable moments. Gatlin and Bolt faced each other in Zagreb, Croatia for the first time.

In an interview with the "High Performance" podcast, Bolt reflected on an incident in his first race against the American. He recalled Gatlin's pre-race routine of pacing back and forth and said watching it was "fun" for him.

Bolt said,

"It's always fun for me. I enjoy watching Justin. It's fun for me to see him in his element because he used to do this thing where he walks back and forth like a crazy person...and he's serious and I always find it so funny and amusing" (39:10).

Bolt also recounted a specific incident from his first race against Gatlin, where the latter spat across his lane in a show of intimidation. Bolt said that he was unfazed by the gesture and said he saw it as a tactic from a previous generation of sprinters.

"Just before my time these guys were always serious and that was it they tried to throw off each other. I remember the first time I competed with Justin he spit across my lane the first time I met him" (41:00).

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"The belief he had every race that he was going to win" - Usain Bolt praises Justin Gatlin's determination

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin pose with their medals after winning the men's 100m final during the 2015 IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. (Photo by via Getty Images)

In the same interview, Usain Bolt shared the one quality he always admired in his fiercest rival Justin Gatlin. Although Bolt bested Gatlin in their rivalry, the Jamaican admired Gatlin's competitive mindset, who approached each race with a belief to succeed.

Bolt was asked for the "behaviors" that were more important than any other for him. He said "hard work" was one, and added,

"I mean you have to be dedicated to anything you do, you just can't go in halfway like oh okay I am going to do. You have to be fully dedicated and if you don't believe that it can be done, then you have already defeated. "

Bolt added,

"I think that's one thing that I've always respected about Justin (Gatlin) competing with him and the belief he had every race that he was going to win."

While Usain Bolt's world records in the 100m and 200m still stand strong, Gatlin also had a highly successful career on the track, with five Olympic and 10 World Championships medals.