American sprinter Justin Gatlin, 39, announced that he will retire from the Belinzona Race in Switzerland on September 14. After Gatlin retired, the only remaining 100-meter Tigers were Powell, Tyson Guy, and John Blake. Gatlin's best time this year is 9.98 seconds, and it's truly amazing that the 39-year-old can still run into 10 seconds.
Due to the relatively large decline in the performance of the 100-meter "Five Tigers" in recent years, and due to the impact of age and injury, they are basically in a semi-retired state. Gatlin is one of these people who maintain a relatively good competitive state and can also appear in some games.
In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that Gatlin is an athlete of the same era as Liu Xiang, in the 2003 National Athletics Federation Golden League, Gatlin won the championship with a time of 9.97 seconds. Liu Xiang also won the world record of 12.91 seconds in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and the 100-meter champion of the Athens Olympic Games was also Gatlin.
But just when everyone thought that Gatlin was about to take over the 100-meter race, in 2006 Gatlin was banned for 8 years (later changed to 4 years) for being investigated for illegally using banned drugs, and many American track and field athletes were involved in the drug ban. Some people say that they are innocent, others say that they are forced to take drugs by coaches, and the scandal of drug bans on American track and field athletes has completely broken out, and many athletes have not been spared. But over the years there have been rumors about American athletes (asthma) "legally taking banned drugs."
Of course, when people thought that Gatlin might say goodbye to athletics, Gatlin did not choose to give up on himself, and ran his career best time of 9.74 seconds in the following years, but Gatlin and Bolt were at a disadvantage in several competitions.
As Gatlin announced his retirement, the remaining three men left the 100-meter race and entered the countdown. The men's 100 meters have improved by leaps and bounds in the past decade, bringing one exciting race after another to friends who like athletics.