Jamaican Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and American world champion Carmelita Jeter stormed out of their press conference on Thursday after refusing to discuss the latest drug scandal, leaving it to Justin Gatlin, a man who served two bans for doping, to defend the credibility of the sport.
Such is the mess athletics now finds itself in as it attempts to shift attention back to the track in tonight’s Diamond League meeting in Monaco, the first major event since Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell admitted failing drug tests five days ago.
The meeting features a rare appearance by double Olympic champion Mo Farah in the 1500m to hone his speed for next month’s World Championships in Moscow, though there is only one subject dominating the agenda in the principality.
After the angry walk-out by Jeter and Fraser-Pryce, a member of the same MVP Track Club as Powell, Gatlin did at least address the doping topic and predicted the sport would recover from its current crisis.
“I still believe in it,” he said. “I’m still a fan of the sport. We just have to get past this. The young athletes have to go out there and shine.”
Gatlin is the man most likely to challenge Usain Bolt for gold in Moscow in the absence of Gay and the injured Yohan Blake, and he believes he is already the man to beat.
“Actually, I think I’m No 1 in the sprint right now, on paper,” he said. “The world champion is out with a hamstring and I’ve beaten the previous world champion already in Rome, so I feel like I’m No 1.”
The prospect of Bolt being toppled by an athlete with such a chequered drug history is a nightmare scenario in the current climate, though Gatlin maintains he is now accepted by most fans.
“It was a rebirth for me to be able to come and be able to gain the respect of the community again,” he said. “I think people accept me now. You’re going to have critics all the time but the majority of the people on social media applaud me for coming back.”
Asked whether Gay could make a similar comeback if forced to serve a suspension, Gatlin replied: “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far. What’s going on with him hasn’t even reached the court stage yet. I’m not the judge, the jury in the situation. I’ll just sit back like any other spectator. But it’s a stressful time — not only for him, but for his family.”
As for Powell apparently testing positive after taking supplements, Gatlin said: “I think this shows a lot of the young athletes that it doesn’t have to be old stone-age steroids that are given to you in a syringe,” he said. “It can be something that over the counter that’s given to you. You just have to make sure that you’re responsible for what’s going into your body.”