American sprint legend Justin Gatlin has made a bold pick for his greatest hypothetical relay team, snubbing Usain Bolt’s.
Former Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has made a surprising pick when ranking hypothetical legendary relay teams—snubbing a Usain Bolt-led squad in favor of a different quartet.
Gatlin, speaking with co-host Rodney Green in a fascinating debate on the Ready Set Go podcast, evaluated four hypothetical all-time great sprint relay teams, ultimately selecting “Team Three” as the best, despite Bolt anchoring one of the rival lineups.
The four teams featured a mix of sprinters from different eras, bringing together some of the fastest men in history.
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Team One featured American sprinter Christian Coleman, Jamaican Michael Frater, Dennis Mitchell and Usain Bolt.
Team Two had Jamaican icon Asafa Powell, Trayvon Bromell, Erriyon Knighton, Carl Lewis
Team Three which was Gatlin’s pick had himself, Nester Carter, Tyson Gay and Maurice Greene, while Team Four included Jon Drummond, Wallace Spearmon, Yohan Blake and reigning 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles
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Gatlin acknowledged the strength of each group but had no hesitation in picking Team Three, which notably did not include the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt.
Gatlin argued that his selection was based purely on numbers and prime-time performance, emphasizing the sheer speed of Team Three.
“When you look at everyone in their primes—Nester Carter ran 9.78, I ran 9.74, Tyson ran 9.69, and Mo ran 9.79. So we’re already just straight-up 9.7s across the board,” Gatlin explained.
He also dismissed concerns about baton exchanges, a common critique of American teams in major championships.
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“I read one of the comments, and it said, ‘Yeah, if Team Three could pass a baton from second to last, they got it,'” said Gatlin’s co-host Rodney Green.
‘Bro, that’s wild.’ Ain’t no stick ever get dropped on me. I don’t think Tyson ever dropped a stick either,” replied Gatlin.
Despite Bolt’s dominance as the fastest man in history, Gatlin believed the raw consistency of his chosen team would make them unbeatable.
Gatlin and Green also analyzed the strengths of the other teams. Green highlighted Team Four as underrated, pointing out their incredible top-end speed.
“If they get in front of you, they ain’t coming back. You’re not running them down—that’s not happening,” Green said.
Gatlin, however, remained firm in his stance, praising his team’s ability to maintain elite speed across all four legs.
