GATLIN
DOHA (Reuters):
WORLD AND Olympic champion Justin Gatlin will try to break the 100 metres world record at tomorrow's IAAF Super Tour meeting in Doha.
The American sprinter said his sole target in 2006 was to add the world record to his name.
"I've the Olympic gold and the World Championship gold, but I want to add the world record to my name," Gatlin said yesterday after a practice session at the Qatar Sports Club.
'My first priority this year was to run a sub-10 seconds race, which I did in Osaka (on Saturday).
"I managed to clock 9.95 seconds there. Now I will go all out for the world record."
Jamaica's Asafa Powell holds the world mark of 9.77 seconds, set in Athens last June. Gatlin will not meet Powell until the grand prix meeting in Gateshead, England, on June 11.
"It (world record) can happen here in Doha on Friday or it can happen anywhere else, but I tell you, I will do it before the year is out," Gatlin said.
The 24-year-old's words were echoed by his Jamaican coach, Trevor Graham.
"I think it's the right time to expect a world-record breaking performance from him," Graham said.
"We make his (training) schedule aimed at peaking in time for a particular competition, say like the Olympics or the World Championship. But in 2006 there are no Olympics or World Championship. So our aim is to go for the world record," he added.
