US sprinting great Justin Gatlin on Thursday announced his retirement, hence drawing curtains to what was a career tinged by doping controversies.
The 40-year-old sprinter, who had clinched the Olympic gold in 2004 Athens Games in 100m, announced his retirement in a post on Instagram titled “Dear Track.”
“I have loved you track. You gave me tears of sadness and of joy, lessons learned that will never be forgotten,” Gatlin wrote.
“The torch is passed but the love will never fade. On your mark, get set … Gone!”
Gatlin’s retirement was on the cards after his failure to make the Tokyo Olympics last summer following a hamstring injury at the US trials.
Gatlin’s career triumphs include, a 100m and 200m sprint double at the Worlds in Helsinki in 2005, and a 100m gold at the 2017 Worlds in London, where he had managed a rare victory over Jamaican legend Usain Bolt, en route.
He was also part of the USA’s gold-medal winning 4x100m relay team at the Doha World Championships in 2019.
However, the veteran sprinter has twice been suspended for doping offenses, the first one happening back in 2001 following the use of Adderall, which contains amphetamine. Gatlin claimed that he had been using the same since childhood to treat attention deficit disorder and the US arbitration panel ruled him a “certainly not a doper.”
Gatlin then found himself with an eight-year ban after a positive result in 2006 showed high levels of testosterone in his system. The ban was later reduced to four on appeal.