Justin Gatlin turned back the clock with a victory in the 100 metres at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.
Gatlin won at the Diamond League meet in a wind-aided time of 9.88 seconds, beating fellow Americans Michael Rodgers and Ryan Bailey.
The 31-year old, who won the bronze medal at the London Games, joked afterward: “I just age like wine.”
Gatlin won the Olympic gold medal at the Athens Games but his promising career was derailed in 2006 by a positive drug test that led to a four-year ban. He has since worked hard to repair his past and was the defending champion at the Prefontaine, winning last year in 9.9 in a tuneup for the U.S. Olympic trials.
“I felt like I had a pretty good start, and I brought it home pretty good,” Gatlin said. “Last year, my 20 metres before the finish line wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be. That’s what we’ve been working on.”
Gatlin took longer than any other athlete on his victory lap, stopping frequently to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
In the women’s 400, Olympic gold medalist Sanya-Richards Ross finished last in her first race since having surgery on her right big toe last September.
The event featured all three medalists from the London Games, Richards-Ross, Christine Ohuruogu and DeeDee Trotter.
“It was rough today,” Richards-Ross said. “I realized I wasn’t going to really push it as well as I wanted to.” Armantle Montsho of Botswana won the 400 in 50.01 seconds.
Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price won the women’s 100 in 10.71. American Allyson Felix fell to seventh. “I still have some work do,” said Felix, who says she’s working to get ready for the U.S. championships in Des Moines later this month.
In the 5,000, Kenyan Edwin Cheruiyot Soi won in 13:04.75, in front of Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Britain in 13:05.88.