Justin Gatlin has agreed with Usain Bolt on why the 2024 Olympic final which saw Noah Lyles narrowly edge out Kishane Thompson was not as great as the 2012 edition.
American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has agreed with Usain Bolt on why the 2024 Olympic 100m final was never a match for the 2012 edition.
The 2012 Olympic 100m final is widely regarded as the greatest in history, featuring an extraordinary lineup: Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Justin Gatlin, Asafa Powell, Ryan Bailey, Churandy Martina, and Richard Thompson, with Idrissa Adam, Tyson Gay, and Kim Collins also in the mix.
It was a field packed the five fastestmen to have ever graced the track.
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In that race, Gatlin clinched bronze in 9.79 seconds, finishing behind Blake (9.75s) and Bolt (9.74s, an Olympic record). The sheer depth of talent made it a one-of-a-kind contest, an era-defining moment in sprinting.
Fast forward to Paris 2024, and the event produced one of the closest finishes in Olympic history. Noah Lyles narrowly edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by a razor-thin margin of 0.005 seconds, with both athletes clocking 9.79s.
Fred Kerley secured bronze in 9.81s, while the rest of the finalists, including Oblique Seville, Kenny Bednarek, Akani Simbine, Marcel Jacobs, and Letsile Tebogo all finished under 9.91 seconds.
While the 2024 final was competitive, Gatlin believes it lacked the all-time greatness of 2012. Speaking on the Ready Set Go podcast alongside Rodney Greene, where Usain Bolt was also interviewed, Gatlin explained why their era was unparalleled.
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“When you look at any other sports, the greatness of those sports—NFL, NBA—they were in generations,” Gatlin remarked, highlighting that in most sports, legendary athletes peak at different times.
“Jordan did not play with LeBron, and Kobe played some with LeBron.”
Gatlin emphasized that unlike in basketball, where all-time greats usually don’t compete directly against each other in their primes, sprinting in 2012 was unique.
“The fact of our lineup is that we were all in the same generation and lined up at the same time. That was the most epic race when it comes to legacy.”
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Even though the 2024 Olympic final was historically tight in terms of margins, Gatlin believes it lacked the same weight in terms of all-time sprinting greatness.
“Time-wise, I can understand your (Rodney Greene’s) point of view in terms of numbers, but I do not think you will ever replicate that race ever again in your life.”
Usain Bolt, never one to shy away from speaking his mind, also weighed in with his own assessment of the 2024 final. The Jamaican sprint icon dismissed the notion that any athlete from the 2024 lineup would have made the podium in 2012.
“No one in that race would have gotten a medal…they wouldn’t have caught him (Justin Gatlin) in the first place. They would have been chasing tails, man, come on.”
Gatlin and Bolt both agree on one thing: the stars aligned perfectly in London 2012, producing a race that will likely never be replicated.
