Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
American Olympic 100m champion and world sprint double winner Justin Gatlin (centre) and Jamaica's Dwight Thomas (left) pose with their Sprint Capitol coach and Jamaican Olympian Trevor Graham. The trio, along with other members of the Sprint Capitol Track Club who will be training here, apart from Olympic 200m gold medallist Shawn Crawford who is due in the island today, arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday. - ANTHONY FOSTER PHOTO
OLYMPIC AND world sprint double champion Justin Galtin very confidenty stated that he will break Asafa Powell's world record 100 metres mark of 9.77 seconds this season.
"I'm coming after the world record and I know he is coming after the World Championships and Olympic Games, so right now, in our minds, we want to be what each other is," Gatlin stated.
"I want to be a world record holder, he wants to be a champion."
When asked how far he could lower the mark, Gatlin said "9.75".
Gatlin, along with other Sprint Capitol track club athletes including Jamaica's Dwight Thomas, United States national champion Me'Lisa Barber, Otis Harris, Demetria Washington, Erica Whipple, Rodney Martin and coach Trevor Graham arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday.
Speaking of the ideal conditions to break the world record, Gatlin said: "Great weather ... you got to have great people there who are going to cheer you on ... so it all comes together."
Gatlin also believes that his achievements are rated higher than Powell's world record.
TROPHY CASE
"Right now the hardware dose, the medals, I can sit at home and look up on my trophy case and see the medals ... so, I love that.
"Right now I'm the man on top of the hill, he has to come and get me," he added.
Powell, in an interview carried on local television Monday night, said "it's my record so I can break it any time".
Gatlin challenged that for Powell to prove himself, he has to repeat his record breaking performance.
"It's another year, another day, you just have to come out and do the same thing over, or do even better this time, just go out there and break the record again and double what he has done and I'll see if that will do it."
Commenting on their build-up last season, the American noted: "I'm just taking my time. Asafa is on a different page than I am. He was focused on breaking the world record at that point in time, I was focused on winning the World Championships."
Looking forward to this year, Gatlin said it will be a different story.
"This year I think we will both be on the same page and we want to see something happen.
"You will see great battles between us. It's a gentlemen race, I have much respect for him, I hope he has much respect for me," Gatlin added.
