Justin Gatlin 2012 Olympics: Results, Analysis and More

Gymnastics and swimming have dominated all of the Olympic talk until now, but almost halfway through London 2012, it's finally time for track and field.

That's when Justin Gatlin will begin his long-awaited comeback. 

The American sprinter has made headlines for the wrong reasons and the right reasons during the course of his career. First, the good: He won the gold medal in the 100-meter sprint in 2004.

The bad: In 2006, he tested positive for testosterone and was slapped with a four-year doping ban, according to Reuters. Obviously, that meant no 2008 Games in Beijing—but many suspected it would also mean no London 2012.

Count this as Gatlin's opportunity to prove that he deserves to be here, and that he deserved that gold medal almost 10 years ago. These Games are going to be no easy feat for the sprinter: At 30, he's eight years older than he was the last time he took home Olympic hardware, and he's doing it without the assistance of illegal substances. 

Succeeding in London will also mean taking down Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, and despite the fact that Gatlin came in first in the 100 at this year's Olympic Trials, beating those two stars is in a whole different hemisphere of difficult.

The next several days could go very well for Gatlin or horribly, horribly wrong. Here's a rundown of his track and field events in London. Let the games begin.

(Note: Article will be updated as results become final.)

Men's 100-Meter Sprint: First Round

UPDATE: Saturday, Aug. 4 at 7:45 a.m. ET by Mike Chiari

American Justin Gatlin easily qualified for the semifinals of the 100-meter dash as he blew away the field in the second heat of Round 1. Gatlin finished with a time of 9.97 seconds, so there is no doubt that he installed himself as one of the favorites to medal should he make the finals.

Gatlin took gold in the 100 back at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but he began serving a four-year doping ban in 2006 and missed the Beijing Olympics because of that. Jamaican Usain Bolt took the world by storm with his 100-meter dash win in 2008, but Gatlin is out to prove that he is still the world's fastest man.

It remains to be seen whether Gatlin can compete with Bolt, or even Bolt's countryman Yohan Blake in the final, but there is no question that Gatlin got himself off to a fantastic start and should be a factor moving forward.

Saturday, August 4 at 7 a.m. ET
NBCOlympics.com

Way back in June during the Olympic Trials, Justin Gatlin came in first in the 100-meter with a blistering time of 9.80 seconds—a personal best, according to USA Today.

But as we've seen from some of the other Olympic athletes this summer, winning at the trials means nothing if you can't come up big when it really counts.

At the trials, Gatlin beat out Tyson Gay (9.86) and Ryan Bailey (9.93), and even though he may be the best America has to offer, he's still going to face an immense challenge going up against sprinters like Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake. 

The likes of Gatlin and Bolt will bypass the preliminary heats and start off in the first round. After that, they'll get a day of rest before embarking on their quests to come out on top in the semifinals. 

Men's 100-Meter Sprint: Semifinals

Update: Sunday, August 5 at 2:50 p.m. ET by Brian Mazique

Gatlin blazed the field in Heat 1, and that was no small feat. Gatlin won with a time of 9.82 finishing ahead of Asafa Powell who clocked in at 9.94.

Gatlin's performance makes him look like the United States best hope for gold and an overall force to be reckoned with in the final. 

This is going to be good.

Sunday, August 5 at 2:45 p.m. ET
NBCOlympics.com

When Gatlin makes it through the first round, the pressure will begin to mount, but at least then Gatlin will have a good sense of where he stands versus the Jamaicans.

It will also be important, however, for Gatlin to pace himself. The semis happen just a couple of hours before the finals, and he doesn't want to give it everything he has in an effort to win the semis and then end up struggling during the finals. We've seen that happen to a couple of American stars during the games thus far (talking to you, Ryan Lochte).

It'll be a delicate balance between maintaining a competitive edge and preserving a little something extra for the final. 

Men's 100-Meter Sprint: Final

Update: Sunday, August 5 at 4:57 p.m. ET by Brian Mazique

Gatlin did his country proud, but no one in the world is as fast as Usain Bolt, and he drove that point home again on Sunday. He wins the gold with a 9.63 in the final.

Gatlin settles for the bronze medal with a 9.79 and Yohan Blake makes it a Jamaican sweep of the top two podium spots with a 9.73 to earn the silver medal. Gatlin has nothing to be ashamed of, Bolt makes it look almost unfair.

Sunday, August 5 at 4:50 p.m. ET
NBCOlympics.com 

During Jamaica's Olympic Trials, Usain Bolt ran the 100-meter in 9.86 seconds. As if that wasn't intimidating enough, Yohan Blake—Bolt's most scintillating competition—ran it in 9.75 seconds, which marked the best time in the world this year, according to ESPN.com.

Back in 2008, Bolt set the world-record time off 9.58. While it's unlikely Bolt puts forth a repeat performance this year, it's not out of the question that Blake might be able to.

And either way, Gatlin is going to have some very, very stiff competition. His coach, former sprinter Dennis Mitchell, acknowledged as much, telling USA Today, "If we're going to take on the Jamaicans, we're looking at running 9.6, probably. Justin is primed and ready to go."

The Americans' best shots in this event will come down to Gatlin and Tyson Gay, the latter of whom was considered the nation's best shot at a gold until Gatlin's performance in Oregon. But neither of them stands a chance against the international competition. 

Men's 4x100-Meter Relay

UPDATE: Saturday, August 11 at 4:10 p.m. ET by Brian Mazique

Gatlin and the American team did the best they could, but there is no stopping the Jamaican juggernaut. Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake lead what is by far the greatest 4x100 meter relay team in history to the gold medal.

Gatlin and his teammates settled for the silver medal.

The Jamaicans time of 36.84 seconds set a new world record, and dulled the shine of the Americans performance.

The Americans' time of 37.04 tied the previous world record, but the Jamaicans were just too good.

UPDATE: Friday, August 10 at 2:45 p.m. ET by Jessica Isner: Gatlin was responsible for the final leg of Round 1 of the men's 4x100-meter on Friday, and the U.S. star did not disappoint, helping the Americans to a first-place finish in Heat 2 at 37.38—which was .01 seconds better than the Jamaicans' finish.

There were no baton-dropping fiascoes this time around, so the Americans—along with Japan (38.07 seconds) and Trinidad and Tobago (38.10)—will move right along to the finals, which will be held on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET.

As expected, the Jamaicans came out on top of Heat 1 with a time of 37.39. They already came that close to the Olympic record time of 37.39 without Usain Bolt in the mix—so imagine how much better they will be with him. 

Yohan Blake raced for the Jamaicans in Round 1, but Bolt—coming off his first-place finish in the 200-meter on Thursday—took the day off.

Qualifying behind Jamaica in Heat 1 were Canada (38.05 seconds) and the Netherlands (38.29 seconds).

In other big news, Great Britain was disqualified for exchanging the baton outside the designated exchange area.

--End of Update--

Round 1: August 10 at 2:45 p.m. ET
Final: August 11 at 4 p.m. ET
NBCOlympics.com 

Knowing how fast Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake ran in the Olympic Trials, can you possibly believe that any team is capable of taking them down in a relay?

The U.S. team, featuring Gatlin and Tyson Gay, will certainly be in medal contention. But a gold? Not going to happen. 

You may recall that four years ago, a dropped baton eliminated the Americans in the relay. Not only do Gatlin and the Americans have to find some way to be better than the Jamaicans—they have to make sure they don't lose on a technicality again.

According to USA Today, 2008 marked the first time since 1928 that the U.S. didn't medal in the men's or women's 4x100 relay. This is their chance to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

A cursory look at the competition, however, will tell you that a gold may not be in the cards for the U.S.

Four years ago, Bolt was the most significant factor in Jamaica's gold-medal run in the 4x100 relay, when the team finished in 37.10 seconds, setting a new world record and absolutely destroying the competition (see the video above).

Bolt is older now, and there have been rumblings that he hasn't been taking his training as seriously as he did four years ago, and according to the Huffington Post, he false-started at the 2011 World Championships and faced immediate disqualification.

But even if Bolt is no longer the Bolt of old, Blake is pretty close. Having them on the same relay team is borderline unfair.

The Blake-Bolt tandem is going to be nearly impossible for any team to beat in this relay. It's about as likely as the U.S. men's basketball team finding some way to lose the gold medal this summer.