Justin Gatlin: American Sprinter Wins First Post-PED Ban Gold Medal

Gold medalist Justin Gatlin is back. He won the 60 meters with a time of 6.46 at the prestigious world indoor championships. That time was 0.08 seconds ahead of the second place winner, Nesta Carter. 

Gatlin won his gold medal in the 100 at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but his career was derailed with a suspension. 

In 2006 he was suspended for excessive testosterone. His suspension ended in 2010. He returned immediately, and had been running strong but failed to capture a gold medal. 

Those circumstances undoubtedly led to the joy Gatlin felt following his win. 

The Associated Press, via ESPN, offered up this quote from Gatlin following his win.

"

It feels like I am reborn again.

The name of the game is relevancy. One of my biggest fears was to be ignored. 

So it was a rebirth. 

"

It's taken a lot of hard training for Gatlin to get back to this point, and he has been paying extra attention to his starts, which makes a win in the 60 so promising. 

Gatlin, as quoted by The Times of India, shed some light on his mindset heading into this event. 

"

I came here to dominate and I wanted to follow up. I just had to make sure that once the gun sounded, I went out. 

I won the 2003 world indoors in Birmingham with exactly the same time and it feels great to be back. 

I have my confidence and I dropped a couple of pounds. I got one medal around my neck and I am now going for the next one.

"

With the Olympics just five months away, the next one could be a big one. Gatlin's performance in this competition is certainly a good sign that he will be able to accomplish that.