Sports

Gatlin qualifies for Olympics with at Olympic Trials

EUGENE, Ore. — Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay each took a huge step — or a few dozen blisteringly fast strides — toward completing their comebacks in the men’s 100-meter dash, while USA Track & Field finally took a step toward breaking a dead heat and naming its women’s 100-meter team.

The Brooklyn-born Gatlin became the youngest Olympic 100 winner in history in 2004 before receiving a four-year ban for a positive drug test. Yesterday he became the oldest Olympic Trials 100 winner with his wire-to-wire 9.80 win. It made him the second-fastest man in the world this year behind Usain Bolt and stamped his ticket to London.

“I’ve heard a lot of words over the past year, redemption, my road, my journey,’’ Gatlin said. “I’ve just been really focused on honing in, sticking to what I know: going out and being a fast runner, breaking it down to the simplest form and competing, go out and may the best man win. That’s what I’ve been focused on.

“I’ve been through some dark paths. What helped me keep my faith was the faith of my fans believing in me, wanting me to come back, using that to empower me every day when I get on the track.’’

Gatlin got off a great start and held off the hard-charging Gay, who ran 9.86. Ryan Bailey finished third in 9.93 before a Hayward Field-record crowd of 27,013.

Gatlin’s coach, Dennis Mitchell, who served a testosterone suspension of his own while competing, said, “Me and Justin have some things in our past we’ve both dealt with, and we’re moving forward. … Right now, there’s nothing he thinks he can’t do.”

And that includes beating Bolt and Yohan Blake, the gold-medal favorites from Jamaica.

“I don’t think I’d come back to a sport where I’m OK getting second or third,’’ Gatlin said. “We all have our eyes on the prize. We want to get that gold. If it’s going to be three Jamaicans in our way or the whole world, that’s what it’s going to take.’’

After winning three golds at the 2007 World Championship, Gay pulled his hamstring at the 2008 Olympic Trials. He later set the U.S. record of 9.69 — still a ways off of Bolt’s 9.58 — then underwent hip surgery. His race two weeks ago at Randall’s Island was his first in a year.

“I had a lot of negative doubts,’’ Gay said. “I tried to throw them out, but it’s one of those things I had to go through. I couldn’t even jog until March I was in so much pain, but I had to keep fighting.“Since [2008] I had two surgeries. I feel like I’m on the way up. This is only my second race of the year. I started training in March. This is all I could ask for. … I knew it was going to be a dogfight. I had to run my heart out to make this team.’’

To break the dead heat between Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh for third place in the women’s 100 and the final spot on the Olympic team, USATF decided to give both the option of a coin toss or run-off. If they choose the same, that will be used as the tiebreaker; if they disagree, the tie is broken by run-off. If they decline to declare a preference, it will be decided by coin toss. The decision called for the result to be finalized by Sunday night.