Gatlin wants to bring the Lewis, Burrell aura back

Raleigh: Justin Gatlin sits on a steeplechase barrier and discusses a world far removed from the pressures of track and field.

In his laidback manner, the Olympic 100 m champion describes his last serious artwork ? a child in a three-dimensional picture staring out from behind chicken wire.

?You look at it like, why is this young five-year-old locked up in a cage? What has he done so horrible in five years of his life?? says the American in describing the work he entitled ?The Eyes of Innocent.? ?Something that would touch somebody?s heart. I have always been that kind of person.?

Gatlin?s preparations for next week?s world championships in Helsinki are going well and now his artwork lags far behind his sprinting.

The piece he describes was created in 2001. ?I don?t have any time now,? says Gatlin.

Yet there was a time when the 23-year-old faced a choice between art and athletics.

In high school at Pensacola, Florida, the aspiring artist and inspiring runner was offered scholarships in both fields. He chose athletics. ?I thought that the light wasn?t as bright in art as it was in track and field,? Gatlin said.

Little did he know how bright, both as a collegian at the University of Tennessee and as a professional.

?My first year (2003) as a professional, world indoor champion,? Gatlin summarised. ?Got hurt outdoors (2003). Came back at the end of the season outdoors when people counted me out and won a half-million-dollar race. Came back the next year. Olympic champion.?

The words are matter-of-fact but reveal more than the whirlwind progress this New York-born sprinter has made since joining the camp of controversial coach Trevor Graham in late 2002.

There is no sprinter?s jive with Gatlin. Soft-spoken, reflective, he offers his thoughts without contrived animation. ?I?m the best America has to offer right now in the sprints,? he says.

The words sound boastful but Gatlin has the titles to back them up. Along with his array of Olympic medals from Athens, gold for the 100, bronze for the 200 and silver in the 4x100 m relay, he became in June the first sprinter in 20 years to hold concurrent US 100 and 200 m championships.

?I?m not just a 100 m person or a 200 m person. I have a lot more to offer,? Gatlin said. ?(People) have not seen that kind of talent since Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell. I?m trying to bring that back.?

With or without world 100 m record holder Asafa Powell in the world championships, Gatlin said he planned to ?compete like a lion? in Helsinki. ?I have no doubt in my mind I will get the job done,? he said.

He is fortunate to be making a run at both world titles.

Officials flagged Gatlin for a disqualifying false start in the 100 m opening round at the US championships, then reinstated him.

A computer printout showed there was motion in the lane next to Gatlin, perhaps causing the Olympic champion to move. ?I was probably in the most shock I have ever been in my life,? Gatlin recalled. ?I was speechless.?