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Justin Gatlin Breaks Usain Bolt’s 100m World Record In 9.45 Seconds, American Sprinter Cheats Yet Again

By Val Powell
Published on: 19:22 PST, Mar 1, 2016

American sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin just broke the world record of Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt for the 100-meter event, but he may have cheated a little bit.

An old video of Gatlin recently resurfaced online and showed how the American athlete managed to beat Bolt‘s record of 9.59 seconds, which he set back at the Berlin World Olympics in 2009.

The video was shot in 2011 on a Japanese TV show called Kasupe, and it seemed like a lot of preparation was put into the record-breaking attempt.

However, the American sprinter only managed to break the record with the help of a gigantic electric fan placed behind him at the starting line. As if that huge fan was not enough, four smaller fans were also placed along his lane that continued to push him forward.

The fans blew a huge gust of wind that allowed Gatlin, 34, to finish the 100-meter sprint in only 9.45 seconds, which would have been good enough for a brand new world record. His previous personal best was 9.74 seconds, a feat he accomplished without the help any device.

According to the report, the strength of the wind that came from the fans, which was about 20mph, was four times the legal limit allowed for records in competition.

The video shows that, as soon as Justin Gatlin reached the finish line and appeared to have set a new world record, everyone, including the TV show’s hosts, cheered for him. All of them were genuinely happy that Gatlin broke a world record in such fashion.

Gatlin was reportedly paid two million yen, or about $25,000, just to appear on the Japanese TV show, and it looked like he loved the experience.

However, breaking the rules is not new to Justin Gatlin, who was banned in 2001 after testing positive to amphetamines. In 2006, the American athlete was banned from the sport for eight years due to doping violations.

Fortunately, the ban was reduced to four years due to his consistent cooperation with anti-doping authorities.

Since Gatlin returned to compete in 2010, he has become one of the main rivals of Usain Bolt in recent years.

In last year’s World Championships in Beijing, both Bolt, 29, and Gatlin paved the way for the rest of the athletes, battling head to head for the championship in the 100-meter event.

However, it was the Jamaican sprinter who edged the American in the 100-meter round, and the former destroyed the latter as well during the 200-meter run, which happens to be Bolt’s favorite event.

Despite the losses, Gatlin is confident that he will be able to avenge the United States’ losses to Bolt at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“I’m going to win. We are bringing it [the gold medal] back to the USA,” said Justin Gatlin, who already won a gold medal for the 100m event in 2004 Athens Olympics. “We are gonna bring it back to the USA, to LA to New York. We are going on a tour around the country with it around my neck like a gold chain.”

Meanwhile, Bolt, who is eyeing his seventh, eighth, and ninth Olympic gold medals, wrote on Instagram, “Keep talking and I will keep working hard #Foreverfaster #SecuringTheLegacy #Blessed.”

The Jamaican star is known for being silent, especially when it comes to Gatlin; but this time around, it seems like Bolt wanted to put the American in his place. He said that Gatlin talks too much during the weeks and months preceding a competition.

But after losing, the American suddenly acts like “he’s your best friend,” which Bolts says is quite confusing.

[Image by Harry How, Getty Images]

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