American sprinter Justin Gatlin has accused
the media of sensationalizing his rivalry with
eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.
The 35-year-old secured a surprise victory in
the men’s 100m final at IAAF World
Championships on Saturday, beating crowd
favourite Bolt on his final individual race
Gatlin, who has twice been banned for doping
offenses, was booed every time he was
introduced to the crowd at the London
Stadium before the 100m heats, semifinals
and final.
Spectators again jeered once it was clear that
the 2004 Olympic champion had won gold and
ruined Bolt’s farewell.
The crowd’s dissatisfaction was less audible
when Gatlin stepped on top of the podium to
collect his medal, but some fans did make
their displeasure known.
Gatlin is the sport’s most controversial drugs
cheat. He was banned for two years in 2001
when he was still at college. He served 12
months of his sentence for taking a banned
amphetamine after successfully arguing he
had taken the drug as medication for attention
deficit disorder.
reax to usain bolt retirement_00011226
In 2006, he was banned for eight years, later
reduced to four on appeal, after testing
positive for the banned steroid testosterone.
Asked how he felt about the crowd’s reaction
in London, Gatlin told CNN: “It leaves me
scratching my head.
“I’ve been back in the sport since 2010. I
wasn’t booed in 2012, ’11, ’12 — which was
still in London — ’13 or ’14 or ’15 and not
that much in ’16.
“I understand why, you have black hat, white
hat; good, evil, but I think it was
sensationalized by the media between two
people who have the utmost respect for each
other.”
Source: vanguardngr
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