Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

[smooth]

Re: Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

>>Now I understand why King Carl hurridly got away from the sport.

OK, why
>did King Carl hurridly get away from the sport?

[smooth]

Re: Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

>>Now I understand why King Carl hurridly got away from the sport.

OK, why
>did King Carl hurridly get away from the sport?



No athlete's union, biased politics , inconsistent stories of performance or peds, and no true loyalty to the athlete (i.e. Masbacks salary vs. the the starving athlete). USATF was not able to dictate King Carl as he pioneered the sport of Track and Field.

[Randy Treadway]

Re: Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

In '96 Carl's speed was definitely way slower as we saw at the Trials, and he had to totally pull one out of his butt in that Long Jump in Atlanta. I think he realized his goose was cooked, and he probably had people advising him to go out on top while at least that last LJ win was still fresh in people's minds. I think he realized that was the last gold he was ever gonna win, so might as well quit now and hope his medal-winning persona would carry over into advertising and acting (didn't he want to get into acting?).
Since then he's almost totally disappeared, just pops up for an occasional interview, so it sounds like his post-athletic career has kind of flopped. And he hasn't been asked to be a spokesman for much of anything endorsement-wise based on his former athletic prowess.
The King not only misplaced his throne, but can't even find the palace.

[Per Andersen]

Re: Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

Are you guys talking about the Carl Lewis who was world top 10 ranked in the 100 every year from 1980 thru 1994. The one who could have medalled in the LJ in 1980 and won gold in every LJ including '96 when he was 35. Hurrying away from the sport? You cannot be serious.

[BisonHurdler]

Re: Will Gatlin Win 100 Again Next Year?

>>>Now I understand why King Carl hurridly got away from the sport.

OK,
>why
>did King Carl hurridly get away from the sport?



No athlete's
>union, biased politics , inconsistent stories of performance or peds, and no
>true loyalty to the athlete (i.e. Masbacks salary vs. the the starving
>athlete). USATF was not able to dictate King Carl as he pioneered the sport of
>Track and Field.




I think JRM's question was more along the lines of "how did this thread lead you to that conclusion?"