Gatlin outguns favourites

ATHENS 2004/Men's 100 metres: What a night, what a show, what an upset - Justin Gatlin, the Olympic 100 metres champion. Nine-eighty-five. It mightn't go down as the sprint of the century but it was pure entertainment. Too bad we have to wait another four years for the next one.

Don't let anybody tell you it wasn't worth being there. It was the moment these Athens Olympics had been waiting for.

A packed stadium, dazzled by the final build-up and the sight of the eight fastest men on earth lined up against each other. Only then did we fully realise it was a race any of them could win.

We just didn't think it would be Gatlin. At 22 years of age he was the youngest of the three Americans, his training partner Shawn Crawford looking the more likely of those since Saturday's heats. And Maurice Greene, now 30 and the defending champion, promised to become the Greatest of All Time.

We didn't think it would be an American at all. We looked at Asafa Powell and nodded. The 21-year-old from Jamaica. Sure, wasn't he jogging through the heats. Once again Athens was about to prove there is no pressure like Olympic pressure.

So we rolled up from early dusk, checked our faith at the door, took our ringside seats, shared some candyfloss. The Olympic 100 metre circus was in town, and for 10 seconds there is still no sporting event on the planet quite like it.

And when they moved with the gun - at the first time of asking - it was Gatlin who made it his race. The others were playing catch-up. By halfway he was half a stride up on his contenders, with only Francis Obikwelu closing in. Greene coming, perhaps, but Powell nowhere.

On the line then, still Gatlin - his 9.85 well inside his previous best of 9.92. An hour after the finish he was down in the mixed zone trying to get to grips with that time.

"That is fast," he says. "Shockingly fast. But I'm just glad I have the gold medal. That's what I've worked so hard for on the track. It means the world to me. This is what I was born for, this is why I started running, and this is why I live."

So did he think he'd need to run so fast?

"Well yeah, I knew I'd need a nine-eighty to win. I just don't know who else could do it. But I knew I could do it. And I wanted to show the world that track and field can still be shown in a positive light.

"And if I fix a few more elements in my race then I'm ready to run 9.7.

"But I had no idea what kind of race it was, or how great it was. It was only down here when I saw it on TV, I realised how great it was. But during the race I felt nothing. Couldn't feel anything. All I felt at the end was that I was a hundred miles from everybody.

"But I want to say, Maurice was a great champion. I just wanted to show everyone that he was Olympic champion before me, the world record holder, and much respect to him, but now it's about me."

For Obikwelu, always safe in second, his 9.86 was also a personal best and a new European record. Though born in Nigeria, he has lived in Portugal for the past 10 years.

And then Greene, always no better than third. His 9.87 a season's best, and on most other nights good enough to win any 100-metre race on the planet.

"I expected a very close ran between seven people. But I've come a long way to come back and compete at this level. The final is everybody's race, so I'm pleased with bronze."

Then came Crawford, his 9.89 by far the best ever time for a fourth place finisher. Even Powell can feel a little hard done by with his 9.94, on the night good enough for only fifth but even by Olympic standards still an exceptional time.

Looking a little sorry for himself in sixth was Kim Collins, the world champion from St Kitts and Nevis.

Last year, in Paris, he realised no one was capable of running under 10 seconds, and he won the world title in 10.07. Last night he ran 10.0 and found himself out of it. Last to finish was Obadele Thompson from Barbados, with Aziz Zakari pulling up.

Born in Brooklyn, and just out of the University of Tennessee where he won six collegiate titles, Gatlin was asked how many more titles he could win.

"Well hopefully five more if I can. Maybe keep going as long as Gail Devers."

All this at least partly made up for the great anti-climax of the women's 100-metre final run late on Saturday night, by which time a large section of the packed stadium figured they'd be better off someplace else.

Those that stayed saw the complete unknown Yuliya Nesterenko of Belarus win gold in 10.93 seconds, just outside the personal best of 10.92 she'd run in the semi-final.

She powered past the American Lauryn Williams (10.96) with Veronica Campbell of Jamaica third (10.97) Nesterenko's only other claim to fame was the bronze medal won over 60 metres earlier this year.

Afterwards the 25-year-old spoke of a total overhaul in training, abandoning her old coach Victor Yerosevich to work with her husband Dmitriy. All sounds somewhat familiar.

MEN'S 100M FINAL: 1. Justin Gatlin (U.S.) 9.85 2. Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) 9.86 3. Maurice Greene (U.S.) 9.87 4. Shawn Crawford (U.S.) 9.89 5. Asafa Powell (Jamaica) 9.94 6. Kim Collins (St Kitts-Nevis) 10.00 7. Obadele Thompson (Barbados) 10.10 DNF Aziz Zakari (Ghana) Wind speed: +0.6mps