"The season is coming to an end but I decided to save energy in order to do something special in Brussels. The fully packed stadium with an enthusiastic crowd will be an extra motivation. This year I was undefeated in the 100m and it is a challenge for me to keep that sheet clean. Usain Bolt was the last athlete to remain undefeated in the 100m throughout the season and that was back in 2009. But the field is extremely strong, 8 athletes have seasonal best sub 10 seconds performances, which is a quite unique setting for this race."
"Travelling to Brussels I was thinking about my favourite football team that remained undefeated for a long while but in the end they lost a game. I said to myself : Brussels is going to be my Super Bowl and I definitely don’t want to lose my game Friday."
"I wanted to race the 200m in Brussels. I surprised myself in Monaco where I ran 19"68. Wilfried Meert put me in lane 7, the famous lane from where Yohan Blaked stormed to 19"26. I know he wants to put the pressure on me, because I love to perform under pressure."
Asked about his ambitions for Rio 2016 Gatlin said that he was definitely focused on the 2016 Olympic Games. "In London I wanted to win the Olympic title but I made a technical error in the final that allowed Bolt to move two strides ahead. In Rio I don’t want to make mistakes anymore. My idea is that I want to continue until 2020. As long as there are no young guys on the track who can beat me I want to go on. I am a fan of my sports and maybe I can start my own team in the latter stages of my career."
Gatlin also reflected on the difference between Usain Bolt and himself. "Usain is a showman, he can entertain the audience and that is good for the sports. And he is always at his best when things matter. That makes him one of the greatest athletes in history. In fact I am a rather shy person. When kids ask me for signatures or for selfies I quickly start feeling shy."
"I have been wondering how I want to be remembered. Probably not as a fast athlete but rather as a fighter. Somebody who always wants to bring out the best out of him. That has helped me come back at the highest level in my sports after being taken out of competition for almost half a decade."
"I love it when the best athletes in the world compete against each other. Rivalry and big showdowns are good for the sports. We should be able to stage more competitions where the best athletes are battling to win their event."
"This year I was only beaten by the elements. Or I ran into a headwind, or the following wind was too strong. To be honest I won all my races this year in the first 50 meters, in the second half of the race I was running against myself. I want to pushed until the finish line."
03 September, 2014
