US sprinter Justin Gatlin is nervous but ready to run under 10 seconds in two 100m races in Estonia this week that will launch his return from a four-year doping ban, he said on Monday.
Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100m champion, will compete at a meeting in Rakvere, Estonia today and again five days later in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
“I will be ready to run and to run fast,” Gatlin told a news conference, adding “any athlete would be nervous going into a competition.”
PHOTO: EPA
He has not run a competitive race since June 2006 after being banned because of a positive test for the male sex hormone testosterone and its precursors.
Gatlin said that using the techniques he has been taught by veteran sprint coach Loren Seagrove, “I can hopefully easily get under 10 seconds.”
The 28-year-old, who regained his eligibility last month after serving a four-year ban, said he was looking forward to the next Olympic Games.
“I can’t wait for London 2012,” he said, adding: “I want to go into the sport given that I might be a just little rusty and have a little dust on me and I need to just knock it off.” Many expected him to have difficulty finding races even after the ban expired, because of a Euro Meetings recommendation not to invite athletes who bring disrepute to the sport.
However, organizers of the Estonian meetings, which are not members of the Euro group, said they welcomed Gatlin’s participation and looked forward to him setting a new national record for the Baltic country of under 10.10 seconds.
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