The fastest man on the planet is an American. Given the history of the event in the Olympics, it should come as no surprise that the winner of the 100-meter dash draped the Stars and Stripes over his shoulders and took off in a victory lap through the hot Athenian night.
He just wasn’t the American most folks figured it would be.
Justin Gatlin didn’t beat a giraffe in a race, and he didn’t call for a rematch against a zebra when he lost to the striped animal in Fox’s “Man vs. Beast” show. That was his training partner Shawn Crawford.
And until Sunday night, Gatlin wasn’t the star of American sprinting. Maurice Greene, the 100 champion at Sydney and holder of four of the five fastest times in history, is the one with “GOAT” on his right biceps. That, of course, means “Greatest Of All Time.”
“And I still am,” Greene said after taking the bronze medal.
Yet there was Gatlin leaning into the tape in the closest 100 in Olympic history, his time of 9.85 seconds a personal best and the fastest in the world this year. Francis Obikwelu of Portugal was second in 9.86 seconds, with Crawford fourth in 9.89. It was the first time more than two men broke 9.9 in an Olympic final.
When Gatlin hit the tape, he looked stunned.
“I knew I had won,” Gatlin, 22, said. “I was just shocked my dream came true. I’ve been watching people like Maurice Greene and Marion Jones do it time and time again. I wanted to be part of that.”
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Time / Athlete, age / Country / Date / Event
9.84 Donovan Bailey, 28, Canada, July 27, 1996 Atlanta Olympics
9.79 Maurice Greene, 24, U.S., June 16, 1999, Grand Prix meet, Athens
9.78 Tim Montgomery, 27, U.S., Sept. 14, 2002, Grand Prix meet, Paris
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Edited by the sports staff of RedEye.
