It took just a split second to shock the entire track and world landscape and ignite a national debate. The March 4 incident during the Virginia State Championships saw an athlete swing her arm and hit another in the head with the baton after being overtaken. This erupted into controversy immediately, with the clip going viral with millions viewing and thrusting the youngsters into the bad spotlight. But while all this was going down, one Olympic champion by the name of Justin Gatlin took his time to defend the youngster. So what did he have to say?

Well, for that, we might need to go back to earlier this week. Now, Justin Gatlin has always been one to be concrete in his views. And beyond the headlines and the hot takes, he made his perspective clear on the recent episode of the Ready Set Go Podcast. He put some emphasis on the Kaelen Tucker incident back in Lynchburg. Defending Alaila Everett, he mentions, “I don’t think so, not to that severity of assault, right?” questioning the narrative of intentional harm.

He further drove his point home by saying, “Um, sometimes your emotions and your competitiveness can get the best of you in these situations.” Being the perennial champ that he is, surely Justin Gatlin might know a thing or two about the heat of the moment. The incident occurred on a tight turn inside an indoor track, a space known for its close-quarters navigation. As one runner attempted to pass another, the baton suddenly swung upward and struck the trailing runner on the back of the head.

Justin Gatlin described the moment vividly: “You know, watching the race and watching how it’s a tight turn on an indoor track and seeing the girl who got hit—how close she came in to try to overtake the young lady with the baton in her hand. And then the baton starts to go wild and crazy and kind of gets—she kind of hits her on the back of the head, man. You know what I mean?”

Although the video prompted strong reactions, Gatlin cautioned against jumping to conclusions. “Now, do I know if it’s true in the sense of, like, she meant to do it or if it was by accident? I’m not sure,” he said. “But I think that what should have been done in that situation is—and from what I hear didn’t happen immediately, and I don’t know if it has happened—is an apology.”

That need for an apology, Gatlin emphasized, transcends right or wrong. It’s about human decency. “You know what I mean? An apology should be issued to that lady, the young girl who got hit in the back of the head. That’s something I would have done first if I were the person doing the hitting. Like, I would have walked up like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry. The arm got wild. It wasn’t meant to be done that way. Sorry.’ Left it as is.” The Olympian highlighted how the viral nature of the moment could follow these athletes long after the season ends.

“And every time they go to a track meet now—because these kids are in high school, they’re still in high school—people are going to recognize them as these semi-fan celebrities of either the assaulted, or the assaulted.” The question becomes: how do these young athletes recover from an incident that, fairly or not, has made them household names in track circles?

“And they’re never going to get any peace. People are always going to focus on them because of that, and they’re going to have the microscope on them because of that situation,” Gatlin said. In the end, Gatlin delivered a message of hope. “So I wish the best for them, and I hope that they’re able to focus on their craft, which is running. And I hope they both can heal from it.” But you might be surprised to know that this wasn’t the first of its kind.

The 2016 Rio Olympics had a similar track accident 

This isn’t the first time the track world has witnessed emotionally charged incidents. At the 2016 Rio Olympics Women’s 5000m Race, a similar kind of incident happened, further proof that intense moments can boil over, even at the professional level. This isn’t the first time emotions, collisions, and unexpected moments have shaped the storylines on a track.

Back in the 2016 Rio Olympics, a heart-stirring incident unfolded during the women’s 5000-meter heat—one that reminded the world what true sportsmanship looks like. Around the 3000-meter mark, New Zealand’s Nikki Hamblin tripped and fell, accidentally taking down Abbey D’Agostino of the U.S., who was right behind her. But instead of frustration or blame, what followed was something unforgettable.

D’Agostino helped Hamblin back to her feet, urging her to keep going, even though she had suffered a serious knee injury in the tumble. Moments later, D’Agostino’s injury worsened, and it was Hamblin who turned around to support her. Despite the pain and clear disadvantage, both runners pushed forward and completed the race, D’Agostino crossing the line in visible distress before being taken away in a wheelchair.

The moment went viral—not for controversy, but for pure, Olympic-level grace. “That girl is the Olympic spirit right there,” Hamblin said. And the world agreed. Both athletes were later awarded the prestigious Fair Play Award by the International Fair Play Committee and the IOC. So the question is: can today’s young runners draw strength from this example of mutual respect when facing their viral moments?