It’s more than a race! It’s the USA vs. Jamaica: a showdown that ignites passion. Jamaica is a quintessential breeding ground for sprinters, and the USA matches its track and field rivals in every vying track. The level of competition has even surprised hardened competitors like Justin Gatlin, who was awestruck by Usain Bolt, a young athlete at the time. 

As is true for every competition–rivalries are a hallmark of every sport. Like Justin Gatlin once bantered his rival Usain Bolt, saying, “I’m going to beat him, and I’m going to wear my gold medal around my neck like a gold chain.” And the reply that came from the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, was, “…all right, let’s go. I mean, I’m that competitive, right?” But it’s not only the rivalry; it’s a passion that is the fuel they fill in. But do you know how Justin reminisces about his first impression of Bolt?

Justin Gatlin saw the person behind the cool name Bolt

Justin Gatlin mentions how he was quite amazed by young Usain Bolt in an interview with Run Your Race on YouTube. The first time when Gatlin heard Bolt’s name, he thought it was a “cool name.” Gatlin recalled when Usain Bolt had just started dominating track and field. “I’m like Usain Bolt, I mean that’s a cool name. And then when he arrived, I was like, let me do some research on this man.”

The 5-time Olympic medalist recalls himself saying, “Let me see if this man changed his name.”You must be like Usain Russell or somebody you changed your last name to Bolt because this is way too fitting dawg. It’s too fitting. It’s too fitting, but it worked. His calling was that bro, he was fast.” And Bolt kept that fitting persona throughout his career. Bolt and Justin Gatlin have since become healthy competitors that the world saw afterward. Nonetheless, it was Gatlin who once said that Usain Bolt helped him to be a better athlete.

Alternatively, Justin Gatlin is a key motivator for Usain Bolt in his track and field endeavors. Usain said, “…he ( Justin Gatlin) kept me on my toes, he kept me working out.” Well, it worked, not only for Bolt and Justin, but also for the spectators who have been following the duo from the beginning.

Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt began their athletic careers at different times, but made their Olympic debuts simultaneously. At the Athens Olympics 2004, the 1982-born Justin clinched the top podium stand in the 100m sprint. Whereas Usain Bolt’s first Olympic debut in the Greek capital stopped him at the qualifying heat race. 

However, the clash of these titans didn’t stop there. The two behemoths faced each other directly twice in their careers. One was in Beijing while the other was in London.

A tale of two races

In the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing, Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin locked horns on the 100m track. Bolt inched away from Gatlin and broke the tape. It was a close race–very close. In that World Championship, Justin Gatlin was just 0.01 second behind the fastest man in history. The timing showed Usain Bolt was 9.79s and Justin Gatlin was 9.80s. But Gatlin knew his time would come, and he would beat Usain Bolt someday. And he did.

And that day came during another World Championship in 2017 London. On 5 August 2017, Justin Gatlin swished to close the gap with Usain Bolt. It was the last 100m dash for Bolt. Everyone in the crowd in the London Stadium was hoping for lightning to strike the track one last time. But Gatlin had other plans. Justin Gatlin clocked 9.92 seconds and beat his arch-rival.

But that winning didn’t make Gatlin obnoxious. Rather, after becoming the champion, Justin Gatlin showed his respect to Bolt by bowing down on the track. After all, what is a rivalry without respect? And thus the final curtain fell on this storied rivalry. And the fans? They have been waiting for the next big rivalry to brew.