RIO DE JANEIRO – When it comes to individual events, Justin Gatlin’s Summer Games are over.
In one of the bigger surprises thus far at track and field here at Olympic Stadium, Gatlin finished third in his semifinal heat of the men’s 200 meters and failed to advance to Thursday night’s finals.
Gatlin finished with a time of 20.13 seconds, barely behind Panama’s Alonso Edward (20.07) and Netherlands’ Churandy Martina (20.10) in his own heat and just off the time necessary to qualify for the eight-person field in the final.
His misfire robs Gatlin of one last shot on the Olympic stage at Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who has set aim on breaking his own world record in the event.
Gatlin has spoken here about the strain of competition, particularly following the quick turnaround between the semifinals and finals of the 100 meters, where he took silver.
A lack of burst was apparent in his 200 heat, as Gatlin was unable to pull away from Edward and Martina during the final 20 meters for the finish line.
