- Justin Gatlin retired in 2022 after a hugely successful career on the track, where he won multiple medals
- The American sprinter was forced to retire after coming up against Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala
- The Kenyan blew away the veteran in a meeting in Nairobi, setting his current personal best of 9.77 seconds
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Justin Gatlin is one of the greatest 100m sprinters of all time.
He battled icons like Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, and Tyson Gay, winning Olympic and global titles.
Recently, the American sprint legend Justin Gatlin recalled how Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, forced him to retire.
Gatlin retired in 2022 at 40 with 15 medals but also served two doping bans in his glittering career, per Athletics Weekly.
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He won the 100m title at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 100m and 200m titles at the 2005 global championships in Helsinki.
He also battled Bolt, the world record holder in the 100m and 200m. He lost but defeated the Jamaican in 2017 as he headed to retirement.
His personal best of 9.74 seconds makes him the fifth fastest man in history.
How Omanyala retired Gatlin
In May, Gatlin hosted the Kenyan in his Ready Set Go podcast to discuss his career, inspiration, and upbringing.
Somewhere in the chat, Gatlin told Omanyala the exact moment he knew he had to retire.
“So we get to the blocks, gun goes out, dry phase, I see that Trayvon is pulling away from me and I am like ‘alright, Trayvon got the boosties on me, he going, so I got a good second.’
“All of a sudden, I see this blur over my peripheral just riding. I had never seen somebody pass me so fast in my whole career, let alone a whole race. 20 years, I had never seen somebody pass that fast. He just comes and he surges. Soon as we cross the line I was like, yeah, that is my last race. I am retiring after this.”
This race was the 2021 Kip Keino Classic at Kasarani National Stadium. Omanyala clocked his personal best of 9.77 seconds to finish second behind Trayvon Bromell. Gatlin was third with a time of 10.03 seconds.
Omanyala eliminated from Olympics
TUKO.co.ke also reported that Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala was eliminated from the Olympic Games after a frustrating performance in the semis.
The fastest man in Africa finished a distant eight in the third semi-final, which Kishane Thompson won. The Jamaican later claimed a silver medal.
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