Usain Bolt’s 100m world record inspired Justin Gatlin to end his NFL dream and return to athletics.

US track legend Gatlin tried out for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers but called it quits after Bolt cemented his name in the record books.

The American was an Olympic and world champion but a four-year doping ban in 2006 shifted him towards another sport.

But in May 2008, Bolt beat Asafa Powell’s 100m world record as he ran 9.72 seconds in New York.

It was an event that changed Gatlin’s life forever as he decided to return to athletics despite having half of his four year doping ban left.

Speaking about his change of heart, Gatlin told Bolt on his own podcast ‘Ready Set Go’: “I was training for [American] football. I was training to be a wide receiver. I was actually on the field working on routes and everything when I heard that he [Bolt] broke the world record.

“I watched it over and over again because I think that’s where we have commonality. It’s the fact of, it’s about competition. It’s about preparing and showing your best because you know that you’re going against the best.

“So when I saw him break the world record I actually was excited. I was like ‘this dude really did that thing, he ran 9.72, that’s crazy’.

“It actually motivated me. I had the best practice that day but I think it ignited a fire in me to be like ‘do I want to stay in a sport where they look at track and field athletes as one-dimensional. Like you can run fast but could you really catch, could you run routes, do you know plays’.

“And it actually started pulling me back towards ‘maybe I want to do track and field again’ because it was never about the fact of breaking records or anything.

“It was about testing myself against the best and at that point in time he [Bolt] was the best.”

In Beijing later that year, Bolt beat his own record in the 100m final with a time of 9.69s to claim his first Olympic gold medal.

It was his first of two as he later went on to claim the 200m gold, beating Michael Johnson’s previous world record with a time of 19.30s.

In 2009, Bolt bettered his world record for a second time running 9.58s.

Four years later, Gatlin and Bolt participated in the most iconic race in history.

At the London 2012 Olympic games, the two lined up against Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay – who all rank among the fastest men in history.

Bolt took gold followed by fellow countryman Blake and then Gatlin with a personal best of 9.79.

In 2015, Galtin bettered that time and cemented his place as the fifth-fastest man in history, running a 9.74 in Qatar.

Fastest 100m sprinters in history

Ranking	Sprinter	Personal best (seconds)	Year
1	Usain Bolt	9.58	2009
=2	Yohan Blake	9.69	2012
=2	Tyson Gay	9.69	2009
4	Asafa Powell	9.72	2008
5	Justin Gatlin	9.74	2015
=6	Christian Coleman	9.76	2019
=6	Trayvon Bromell	9.76	2021
=6	Fred Kerley	9.76	2022
=9	Ferdinand Omanyala	9.77	2021
=9	Kishane Thompson	9.77	2024

Bolt and Gatlin had a very competitive rivalry with the Jamaican getting the better of most exchanges – but in 2017 the American got his much awaited victory.

At the 2017 London World Championships, Gatlin shushed the crowd and bowed down to Bolt as he finally won an individual gold medal 12 years after his last.