By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

August 3 - America's disgraced 2004 Olympic 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin tonight began his campaign to regain his title in London in 2012 with a victory in Rakvere, Estonia, on his return from a four-year doping ban.



The 28-year-old from Florida clocked 10.24sec ahead of countrymen J-Mee Samuels and Rubin Williams in a low-key meeting.

It was a far cry from the time of 9.85 he recorded when winning the Olympic title in Athens in 2004, or the 9.77 he ran to equal the world record in May 2006, which has since been annulled following the suspension.

"I came off the blocks and stumbled a little bit and my first 20 [metres] was not on point like it was in the prelims, but I think I kept my composure towards the end of the race and I finished well," Gatlin said.

"I got a lot of the butterflies out and I am ready to go and run and compete.

"I'm a little disappointed in the time.

"I run half the race just kind of cycling through it.
 
"But I think this a good comeback, to get my feet wet, and I hope going into the next races will be bigger and better."



Gatlin, who also won the 100m and 200m at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, but was banned for four years after testing positive in April 2006 for excessive testosterone. 

It was his second positive test, having also been banned for two years in 2001 after testing positive for amphetamines.

Gatlin appealed on the grounds that the positive test had been due to medication that he had been taking since his childhood, when he was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

The appeal resulted in an early reinstatement by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Gatlin only avoided a life-time ban after his second offence because he agreed to cooperate with the United States Anti-Doping Agency and because of the "exceptional circumstances" surrounding his first positive drug test.

That was subsequently reduced in 2007 to a four-year ban, although it meant he was still unable to defend his title at Beijing in 2008, where he was succeeded by Jamaica's Usain Bolt.

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