Showboat Justin Gatlin loses 200m after failed swagger to finish line
Justin Galtin, I've watched Usain Bolt. I know Usain Bolt (well, through TV and all). Usain Bolt is a friend to mankind. Justin, you are no Usain Bolt.
America's top sprinter, who won silver in the 100m in Rio, won the same medal in last year's 200m at the world championships and was heavily favored to win another medal in the 200m, missed the final in that race in Rio Wednesday night. Gatlin blew a lead at the 160-meter mark in large part because he appeared to be showboating to the finish line, like a certain Jamaican sprinter he knows. Gatlin, who had an easy lead and was cruising to the final, looked to his right like he was doing an impersonation of Bolt and strutted and preened his way to the finish line while the rest of the field ran through the tape.
Gatlin finished third in a semifinal in which the top two finishers automatically qualified for the final. And though the top two fastest finishers in the three heats also advanced to Thursday night, Gatlin's semifinal was slow and his 20.13 missed out on a wild-card berth by three-hundredths of a second.
In a gracious interview with NBC, Gatlin admitted slowing down but blamed an ankle injury which I have no doubt exists. But the replay doesn't lie. Gatlin led at the 150-meter mark, looked around to make sure he had a lead, apparently severely overestimated his lead and then slowed up to jog through the tape like he was leading by so much it didn't matter how much he decelerated. An ankle injury shouldn't affect effort, or the perception of it.
Meanwhile, Alonso Edward (Panama) and Churandy Martina (Netherlands) ran like the race ended at 210 meters, not 180, passed Gatlin and will now be in the final, which is suddenly wide open for bronze after Bolt and LeShawn Merritt enter as the heavy favorites for the top two spots on the podium.
In terms of blowing a race because of showing off, Gatlin can take comfort in that he's not Lindsey Jacobellis, the Winter Olympian who had a huge lead in the 2006 snowboard cross and decided to do a triumphant trick on the final jump but fell and was passed for gold. For Jacobellis, there was no ankle injury to hide behind. And Gatlin's slow-down, while obvious, was hardly like he was 20 meters ahead of everybody and then tripped while turning around trying to moonwalk - or what we call Jacobellis-style.
However, Jacobellis still held on for the silver after her ignominious Olympic moment. That's not a bad consolation prize. Gatlin finished ninth in an event in which he was expected to medal. New rule: If you can't beat Bolt, don't try to act like Bolt.
