Split Second

Published by The Undefeated on August 8, 2016

As Justin Gatlin prepares for his 100-meter-dash heat in the merciless process of elimination known as the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, news of Usain Bolt’s hamstring injury sends a tremor through the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field on this July afternoon.

Bolt, the greatest sprinter ever, the only person to win the 100-, 200- and 4-x-100-meter relay in consecutive Olympics, is seeking another three golds in Rio — an unfathomable triple-triple. When healthy, the Jamaican is unbeatable. When ill-prepared, however, Bolt is ever-so-slightly vulnerable.

Gatlin has spent the past six years pursuing the legend. Longer if you count his four-year suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Living in speed’s shadow, trying not to think about Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, can turn doubt into fact. At last year’s world championships in Beijing, Gatlin inexplicably botched his best chance to defeat an out-of-shape Bolt, losing by an excruciating .01 of a second.