"That was an unfair advantage"-Justin Gatlin voices his frustration on scheduling differences between men's and women's sprint races at Paris Olympics

By Abhiruchi Rout

Modified Aug 18, 2024 17:36 GMT

Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin expressed frustration over the scheduling differences between men’s and women’s sprint events at the recently concluded Paris Olympics. He argued that the extra day between heats and semifinals granted male sprinters an unfair advantage compared to female athletes, especially those competing in both the 100m and 200m events.

At the Paris Olympics, the women’s 100m preliminaries and Round 1 took place on August 2, with the semifinals and final held on August 3. Meanwhile, the women's 200m heats were held on August 4, followed by repechage rounds and semifinals on August 5, with the final scheduled for August 6.

Whereas, the men’s 100m preliminaries and Round 1 took place on August 3, with the semifinals and final held on August 4. The men’s 200m heats were held on August 5, followed by repechage rounds on August 6. The semifinals were held on August 7 and the final took place on August 8.

On the Ready Set Go podcast, Justin Gatlin expressed his frustration over the scheduling disparities between the men's and women's sprint events.

“I don't even know who I need to pick this bone with, but if anybody's listening know where to direct this to, why did the women get less time to prepare from the 100 to the 200 when the men had a day off to rest their body and go out there and run a little more fresher than the women did? I feel like that was an unfair advantage in a lot of ways,” he stated. (9:50 onwards)

He further discussed the challenges faced by athletes, particularly those competing in both the 100m and 200m, due to the scheduling differences, emphasizing the importance of considerate event placement.

“And when you're doubling, regardless of it's at a World Championships or the Olympics, it's a hard feat to do to be able to run three rounds at 100. After you ran that 100, you go to press conference, you might be up to one o'clock in the morning because then you gotta go get something to eat,” he explained.

Gatlin also said,

“Now you gotta go do drug testing. Now you gotta make sure your body goes to a therapist and you make sure your body's ready for the first round of 200, which is the next day. Then, you gotta go the day after that to run the semis and then the day after that to run the finals. So, those six days back to back was going to be a task for anybody.”

The 42-year-old heaped praise on Julien Alfred for achieving two podium finishes despite the demanding race schedule.

“So, shout out to Julian. She did an amazing job of maintaining herself and still got on the podium for both,” he added.

Besides Alfred, Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, Kenny Bednarek, and Daryll Neita are some popular names who competed in both 100m and 200m finals at the Paris Olympics.

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A look at Justin Gatlin’s performance in sprint disciplines in Olympics

Justin Gatlin at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (Image via Getty Images)

Justin Gatlin is a five-time Olympic medalist. He clinched gold in the 100m at the 2004 Athens Olympics, two silvers in the 4x100m relay at the Athens and Rio Olympics, and two bronzes in the 200m and 100m at the Athens and London Olympic Games

In the men’s 100m, he won the only gold of his Olympic career, clocking a world lead and personal best time of 9.85s as he finished ahead of Francis Obikwelu of Portugal (9.86) and compatriot Maurice Greene (9.87).

Additionally, Gatlin’s illustrious career saw him bag four gold and six silver medals at the World Championships. He retired from the sport in 2022.