Destroyed by Usain Bolt in Career’s Best Season, Justin Gatlin Makes Daring Confession

In the world of track and field, where success and glory are forged through fierce competition, few rivalries have stood out quite like that of Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin. Their showdowns on the track were legendary and are discussed even today. Usain Bolt has even shared a memorable anecdote from the Olympics, revealing how someone sent him a video where Gatlin was asked if he would surpass the world’s fastest man, and Gatlin shared, “I’m going to beat him and I’m going to wear my gold medal around my neck like a gold chain.”

In reply, Bolt shared, “I was like ‘All right let’s go!’ I mean I’m that competitive right,” showing the intensity of their contention. Now, years after their retirement, Justin Gatlin recently made a daring confession about a pivotal race where Usain Bolt surpassed him during his peak performance season.

Justin Gatlin opens up about the time Usain Bolt made him cry

During an episode titled “Track Beef vs. Rivalries, The infamous Usain GOAT Video, Track Failing with Total Running Productions” on the Ready Set Go podcast hosted by Justin Gatlin, Gatlin and Rodney Green were joined by Andrew Martin of Total Running Productions. A moment stood out when Andre expressed his regret and apologized to Justin for the way he had portrayed him in a video he had created in the past.

Andrew Martin shared that he didn’t fully grasp the complexities of portraying real people and specifically mentioned a video he made about Usain Bolt beating Justin in a race by a small margin in 2015. Glimpses of the race played as Andrew Martin apologized, revealing a teary-eyed Justin Gatlin, who had just been surpassed by Usain Bolt.

Reflecting on this moment, Justin responded graciously, accepting the apology and sharing his perspective on the race and its aftermath. He described the race as a learning experience and said, “I’ve talked about that story where it was the only race that brought emotions out of me.” As we reflect on these words, let us go back in time and see why the moment left Justin Gatlin in tears.

The iconic track moment

Let’s revisit the 5th IAAF World Championships held in Beijing, China, on August 23, 2015, where Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin went head-to-head in the final of the men’s 100-meter event. Despite the fierce contention between the two, Bolt emerged as the victor with a time of 9.79 seconds. Gatlin, on the other hand, finished just 0.01 seconds behind Bolt, clocking in at 9.80 seconds. This razor-thin margin made the race incredibly thrilling and showed the skill of both athletes.

Read more: Track and Field Athlete Brutally Punching Opponent at the 92′ Championships Leaves Fans in Splits “Kick Inna Face”

Reflecting on their rivalry, Justin Gatlin has since opened up, stating, “After we left the sport, there was a realisation that Bolt helped me become a better athlete, and vice-versa.” As we reminisce about this epic rivalry, track fans eagerly anticipate witnessing the same kind of respect and fierce competition as the Olympic year unfolds.

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