Gatlin’s Record Marred by Error

Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell turned out to be right when he said Justin Gatlin had only “borrowed” the world record in the 100 meters.

Less than a week after Gatlin thought he had set the world standard in the event with an announced time of 9.76 at a meet in Doha, Qatar, the International Assn. of Athletics Federations said his recorded time was 9.766, which should have been manually rounded up to 9.77.

With the new mark, Gatlin became co-world record holder with Powell, who ran 9.77 in Athens, Greece last June.

“It is very disappointing to me that it has taken five days to determine the official time of a race with this significance,” Gatlin said in a statement Wednesday. “I remain confident that I am the world’s fastest man and I look forward to proving it once again. My parents raised me to be a good sport, but I don’t want to share the world record.”

The IAAF made the ruling after being informed of the error by Tissot Timing. The IAAF’s rounding rule, which is normally initiated manually on the timing system “had not been activated as instructed,” Tissot said in a statement. “Tissot Timing regrets the occurrence and apologizes for this unique incident.”

Craig Masback, chief executive of USA Track and Field, felt badly for Gatlin.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” Masback said. “He just ran the fastest that anyone has ever run. Athletes deserve better than that. They can’t measure the track. They can’t time themselves.”

A similar situation happened in 1995 when Cuban long jumper Ivan Pedroso thought he had broken Mike Powell’s world record of 29 feet 4 1/2 inches with a jump of 29-4 3/4 in a high-altitude meet at Sestriere, in the Italian Alps.

But Pedroso new mark was not ratified by the IAAF after an inquiry revealed that the wind gauge had been deliberately obstructed by an Italian coach at the time of his jump.

Renaldo Nehemiah, Gatlin’s agent and former world record holder in the high hurdles, has requested that the IAAF reexamine Powell’s record performance.

“Asafa Powell’s record in Greece, it showed 9.78. It was rounded down to 9.77,” Nehemiah told Reuters. “I want to ensure the same sensitivity [applied to Gatlin’s run] was attributed to that record as well.

“I do not want to take anything anyway from Asafa Powell, but if everybody is starting to look at this with a magnifying glass, and rightly so because of the lowness of the times, so we want to look into that time.”

The runners last faced each other in London in July when Gatlin won easily after Powell pulled up because of a groin injury.

“My job is to go out there and run fast and threaten world records and that’s what I plan on doing,” Gatlin said. “This will only motivate me to go out there and run faster. I was very upset this morning but that anger turned to motivation. I want to be the first man to run 9.7 twice.”

Gatlin’s next race will be the Prefontaine Classic on May 28, where he will run the 100. Powell also will compete in a separate race because of contractual obligations for a scheduled showdown between the two at a June 11 meet in Gateshead, England.

“I just think it’s great,” Paul Doyle, Powell’s agent, told Reuters. “Fans will get to see them both run, and it will prolong the suspense of when they do race against each other.”

Said Gatlin: “Everybody needs to be patient. We’re trying to put together the best race possible. Neither one of us is scared of the other.... This matchup, this bout can be one of the greatest in track and field history.”