Justin Gatlin to return to training after injury scare
Sprinter on course to defend world title in Doha
Last Updated: 04/09/19 2:59pm
World 100m champion Justin Gatlin remains on course to defend his title despite suffering an injury scare.
Gatlin pulled up injured whilst competing in Zagreb on Tuesday holding on to his hamstring as he faded to finish fourth in the race in a time of 10.29 secs.
His manager Renaldo Nehemiah has said he will return to training within a week after tests proved negative on any damage to the hamstring.
"He said he started to feel something grabbing, so he immediately tried to protect against any potential injury occurring," Nehemiah said.
Tests to Gatlin's hamstring "showed he still had 100 per cent strength in the leg and there were no adhesions or anything," Nehemiah added.
It was the second time within a week the 37-year-old had slowed in a race while leading.
Gatlin, who has the fourth fastest time over 100m this year with 9.87 secs, finished fourth in the Zurich Diamond League final on August 29. Three days later he returned to form, winning a 100m race in Switzerland in 9.97 seconds.
The American sprinter won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 but then served a four-year ban for doping between 2006 and 2010. He returned to win a bronze medal in the Olympics in London in 2012 and then went on to win silver medals at the world championships in 2013 and 2015 before winning Olympic silver in Rio in 2016.
He went one better at the world championships in London in 2017 with gold in the 100m. He will look to defend that title in Doha later this month.
