Hello, everyone.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary, and welcome to this edition of Connecting the Community.

He's an Olympic gold medalist with a robust story to tell.

Yes.

Justin Gatlin's new book ready set Go is a national bestseller.

And during this exclusive interview with, he'll speak candidly about his journey both on and off the track.

Folks, he's experienced his share of trials and triumphs.

And as you'll see, the end result has only made him stronger.

I'm honored to welcome Justin Gatlin back to Pensacola and our studio.

Welcome.

And he's joined by his amazing mother, Jeanette.

This is a monumental moment in my life.

Having you back on set.

Justin, thank you for being here.

It's good to be back by your lovely mom.

So we know that we've already done a few shows featuring Justin in the past, so we're going to start with your years at the University of Tennessee and that track program.

And what was your mindset when you started training for UT and then thinking about the Olympics that were forthcoming?

I think for me to even get to the point of going to UT, it was adult, adult decision making sure that I didn't have any student loans, or my parents didn't have to pay for me to go to college.

So I ran as hard as I could, fast as I could to make sure I got a full scholarship.

I was successful in that, so very happy with that.

But also the fact that I picked the right coach for me.

It was a lot of schools that were vetting me and wanted me to become part of their team, to be able to have successful championships.

But I wanted to create something special with a team that wasn't in the spotlight to win a championship.

I wanted to create something with the guys and I know it's going to be special.

And the only way I can do that was finding a coach that said, I can make you the best you desire to be.

And that was me.

Coach, tell us a little bit more about him.

His name, basically just how he intensified his ambitions for you and how they translated to you on the track.

His name was Vince Anderson, and the last conversation we had before I decided to be with him, he looked me in my eyes after having my recruiting trip and said, I can't.

I can't promise you the glitz and the glory.

I can't promise you a trophy or rings, but what I can promise you is that you're going to be the best athlete you desire to be here, and I'm going to grow with you.

And after that, I turned down all other offers I actually had to decommitted from LSU.

Okay, that was a little tough, wasn't it?

It was tough for me because I actually asked my mom to say, hey, mom, can you call the coach from LSU?

She's like, no, you're an adult now.

You got to do adult things.

So I had to make that phone call.

Well, Jeanette, I understand, of course, a big sounding board that you and your husband, Willie, have been family oriented.

There are some things that Justin always did.

He didn't drink soda.

In fact, he drank juice.

And that sort of was a springboard for the other athletes to take hold of that great idea.

So as a parent, share your perspective about his college days.

Well, I think that his college days turned out to be really very good.

Once again, Vince Anderson was the perfect coach at that time for Justin Gatlin.

We also ended up having a good bond with him and his family as well.

Justin's college days.

He had good roommates.

We would go and visit my husband and I and load up the backseat with boxes of goodies for all of the guys when we went to dinner.

While we were there, we would take the guys with us, you know, and, we got to know them and, and and root for them.

Like, we root for our son.

Love that.

So let's fast track a few years, Justin.

You're thinking about running in the Olympic Games and talk about your training for that while at UT.

And what was the spark that this made you keep persevering day after day?

You know, a lot of people think that as a little kid you're like, oh, my Olympic dream is up.

My dream is to go to the Olympics, right?

I actually set my goals a year to two years in advance.

That's it.

So when it was time for me to go to college, that's all I thought about.

I thought about being the best collegiate athlete in the nation.

And then once I was able to do that my freshman year, I was like, well, sophomore year, let's do it again, right?

I was like, I accomplished that.

And then I sat down with my coach and my mom and dad, and I was like, what else can you do, you know?

So we decided to go pro, and that was the goal.

And to be able to come to fast me in the world.

Oh yeah.

We'll definitely get to that a little bit later.

Now, Jeanette, the fact that he decided to go pro, I'm sure for a lot of people, there were thoughts maybe going through their minds and maybe you could have heard from someone say, oh, was that a good decision?

But honestly, the decision was his.

So your reaction?

Well, I thought that there was no need for him not to go pro.

He had achieved athletically everything that he set out to do at the University of Tennessee.

I mean, he had ten championship rings, so there was no growth in that area at all.

So to move on, to continue to grow, it was time.

All right.

And speaking about just in time.

Right, folks.

So you were training and you found out that you had made the 2004 Olympic team.

What was your first reaction?

Truly happy.

Elated.

Like after that became my goal.

It was became a passion, a drive, an obsession to get better and stronger.

And to see that moment.

Because that's what it is.

It's a moment that some people capture it and then some people lose them their whole career of making the Olympic team.

So my first opportunity and my first try, I made the Olympic team.

So I was truly, truly happy.

I think we have a picture is an article at home.

A lot of great pictures of you, Justin.

And I'm I'm crying.

Yeah, yeah, I'm crying because I made the team.

But after that, it's just like it was all business from there.

And so what were the specific events that you qualified for in 2004, 2000?

Four?

I qualified for the 100m in a 200m.

And then I automatically put you into the relay pool as well before by one.

And I know that you want three medals.

So, Jeanette, you were in the audience, and we do have that picture of you embracing your son when you saw this transpire, thinking about all the years attending these track events.

What did you think?

First off, he came running up into the stands to embrace you and Willie.

Well, I thought like, wow, you know, it wasn't something that I imagined.

It just was something that naturally progressed and he was the second youngest to ever win a gold medal at an Olympics.

And I think the first person was, like, six months or so younger than him many years before that.

So my husband and I, we just were excited.

We were screaming.

We were thankful.

And we really realized how blessed and Justin is and what a blessing it is.

So, Justin, you come back to America to a lot of fanfare, even a huge parade in Pensacola.

You signed autographs probably till your your hand went numb.

And I could imagine.

Is that correct?

Yeah.

I had to turn ambidextrous.

I'll sign in.

So many autographs.

It was it was just it blew my mind.

First of all, I didn't think that I.

People were watching the Olympics.

And it's a moment that the world watches.

So when I.

When I come back home to Pensacola and I realized that we had to have the ceremony at the Civic Center.

Yes.

And how many people were at the exhibit center?

How long?

The line was just to get an autograph.

It really put in perspective to me that how special that moment truly was to it.

And of course, a lot of great things happening in your world endorsement deals, many opportunities.

The holidays come and it's a moment of euphoria.

But according to the book, sadly an event transpired.

And before we get into that, if you will just share with our viewing audience what a nondisclosure agreement is.

So a nondisclosure agreement is between two parties.

And some can say it can be a gag order in a kind of a way.

So where in my nondisclosure agreement was between myself and, the organization, the Federation of USA track and Field slash Anti-Doping agency.

And I couldn't talk about the everything that transpired through, my case.

Yes, until I retired.

So and literally this this is 2007, 2008.

I retired in 2022.

So that tells you how long had to hold this information close to my chest and and with my family.

And so we know they were doping allegations.

And some may say sometimes you really don't find out.

Right.

And who your true friends are until a tragedy arises.

So this all time high just.

And now we're facing a moment where these allegations are forthright.

Can you tell us specifically what happened?

So at this point in time, as a young athlete, you know, you start off and you think about just the glitz and glam and just winning and just running hard.

And as as an athlete, a circle is built for you.

I can't make those decisions.

I don't even know how to make those decisions.

So, I had a coach and a therapist.

I had a shoe sponsor, had an agent, just like any other elite athlete would have did.

I had the opportunity to really do the vetting process, know my parents and know who these individuals were either.

We just was going along with the fact of people who understood track and field at an elite level, and we put our faith in those people.

So having a therapist, in that situation, he wasn't really, forthcoming on his actions and how he transpired in, when you lay down on the table to get massaged.

What's the first thing you do?

You lay down, you put your face in the cradle, and that means you don't know what's happening to your body.

You don't know what's right.

You don't know what's getting put on your body at all.

So having tested positive with my new traces, it I kind of backtrack and kind of thought about how did I get here?

Right.

And that was the only logical thing that we can come up with.

And going through that process, it was it was heart wrenching because I always looked at myself as the good guy.

I always looked at myself as the hero, the guy who wanted to inspire the next.

And now I'm sitting here as the villain, the bad guy, and I didn't know how to be able to pull myself through that.

Luckily, I had my parents and a great agent who stood by my side through this ordeal.

And so, according to the book, this individual who rubbed the cream on you was eventually fired.

But then again, after the times in the court of public opinion, people were rushed to judgment and coming back to you.

Jeanette.

Sadly.

So the media sometimes can build people up on a pedestal.

And then every now and then, as I would say, the House of cards comes tumbling down.

So you had to endure quite a bit as Justin's mother and just someone who loves him wholeheartedly.

Hearing about these things, there were stories in the media.

There were a few hit pieces here and there, and there are always two sides to a story.

But sadly, sometimes individuals did not come to get a reaction from you or even talk to Justin regarding any events surrounding the doping allegations.

I know that you're a strong source of strength for Justin.

How did you and Willie and the family cope with this?

My main concern was Justin.

And to be very honest, I really didn't care how other people felt or what they thought.

And just to add something into this story.

Justin won the Olympics in 2004.

This doping allegation came around in 2006.

He had already won Olympics and double gold and world champion the year after formed five.

This was one of the first meets of 2006 where he did it pro bono.

He had nothing to gain and everything to lose.

So it wasn't even something that, excuse me, I could say to him, well, son, right.

Did you do anything?

You know, think back.

He had nothing to gain.

He.

He had everything to lose.

So the thought of him possibly being a part of it did not exist as far as I was concerned.

And so, Justin, we know, according to the book that you moved back to Pensacola living with your family.

And there was one portion of the book you, your mind set.

You were in a different place.

All this pressure on you, you had gained some way.

You had gone out with friends, you were partying and doing things and some people in the area were calling you Justin Fatland.

And when I read that, I cried because I thought about the fact that yes, although we sometimes do face our lows, are we going to pick ourselves back up?

But that's what you decided to do.

And as we know, Jeanette, things turned out in his favor.

And so he was able to be a part of the Olympics in 2012.

We know he had to sit out, but again, things did work out in his favor.

And so positivity.

But that long stretch of time in between that gap, that's when he needed his family the most.

And anyone else who would support him.

Correct?

Correct.

And his father and I said to him, you don't hide from anybody.

You hold your head up.

You go head on out that door and you do not allow that to to stop you from being you.

And so just know it's as if a light bulb turned on in your head.

Time to regroup.

Some might say I the tiger like you, had that eye of the tiger.

So you're back in stride.

London 2012.

Rio as well.

You're back at the Olympics, winning medals.

Some might ask in the back of their heads, anybody watching?

How in the world could Justin Gatlin rebound from all of this?

You never gave up.

I know what kind of athlete I am.

I know where my passion is, when my talent is God given.

And the fact of my mom always told me and it resonated in me within that moment.

You can show them better than you can tell them.

And that's one reason why I never spoke about a lot of my hardships, is because it just would have fell on deaf ears.

But if I went out there and got back into great shape, got back on the podium over and over again, that would have showed the true athlete that I am.

All right.

And we know, of course, you are retired right now, but we want people to read the book to find out all the other details.

So, Jeanette, as a proud mom, knowing that your son has accomplished so much.

We're at the point right now where he's reached retirement.

But when we come back, we're going to talk about what he has done since then.

So, folks, we're getting the conversation started with Justin Gatlin.

And as we had to break, take a look at some golden moments from Justin Gatlin's recent retirement celebration.

We'll be back with more right after this.

Now, here is just an one ultimate goal is to be one of the best sprinters in history.

And I feel that I can accomplish that massive night.

For Justin Gatlin, it's going to be Justin Gatlin.

He's going the gold medal.

So many sacrifice at the line.

Gatlin.

What has been the seemingly incomparable Justin Gatlin, the fastest man in the world this year?

My girls.

I mean, let's you know how many sacrifice Gatlin is extending that lead down the stretch to get it?

Hey, man, you gotta make sacrifices.

That's how hungry my appetite is.

I want to go out with a bang.

I want to say, you know what I give all I could give, I'm done.

I believe Gatlin finished.

Take the last two Americans, make it look good.

Ottawa's outlasted Justin.

He's the world's champion.

No matter.

Hello, everyone.

During this segment, we're continuing our discussion with Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin and his mom, Jeanette.

They're joined by longtime friend Michael Etheridge, founder of gold, an elite track and field club.

He's been quite busy with the Justin Gatlin Freshman and Sophomore Invitational.

We'll find out more about that shortly.

But first, Justin, we just saw some amazing video from your retirement celebration.

When did that happen?

Oh 2022 22 yeah.

Wow.

Just a few years and years of so many years.

Exactly.

Count the years.

Count the days.

So we ended the last segment with the fact that you had definitely participated in your last Olympics.

But now, post retirement, there's a lot going on in your world.

You wanted to give us a little bit more information about your gag order, correct?

Yeah.

So my gag order kind of lasted from 2000 and 608 to my retirement, which is 2022.

So yes, almost felt like a lifetime away.

What the gag order itself is we won the case against USADA and they had to settle.

So with that settling, it was the fact of, I couldn't talk about it because it would open up Pandora's box for them, you know, in other ways.

But now that I'm retired, I'm able to talk about it more.

Absolutely.

We definitely appreciate your candor with that.

We also need to let the public know what you're doing right now.

One of the first things that I'd like to mention is that he has a ready, set, go podcast.

Right.

Tell us where that is and how people can access it.

You can find ready, set, Go podcast on all streaming platforms.

Apple podcast.

You can also go to Spotify and YouTube as well.

Now speaking of ready, set, go your good friend now 2017 you were crowned the fastest man in the world, beating Usain Bolt.

All the buzz out there in media land.

But he contacted you so he could appear on your podcast.

How interesting was that?

Oh, amazing.

You know, the fact that we've had so many years of battling back and forth.

He reached out to me, and through our retirement, we've actually gotten closer and talked much more.

And he was like, bro, when I'm going to be on the show just like that.

And I was just like that, just like that.

And I was like, tomorrow, let's go.

And you made it happen.

You have over 70,000 subscribers.

And recently I found out your mom, a little birdie, told me that you were inducted into the Bob Hayes Invitational 2025 Hall of Fame.

What was your first reaction when you found out about that?

I was so happy.

You know, Bob Hayes is such a legend, knowing that what he, has achieved, he's the only person has ever won a Super Bowl championship.

Ring an Olympic gold medal.

And he won his Olympic gold medal from lane one on a cinder track.

So we all know that the popular.

The popular lane is lane one.

So distance running his lane one.

Everything else is ran in lane one.

So it was very choppy and it wasn't not a lot of like grit to be able to get down there and run.

But he still got in front of everybody and was able to go out there and be successful.

So to be honored, to be a part of that Hall of Fame, it means so much.

Now, you know, I know that because you and Willie were there and you've got some fantastic pictures of Justin, his wife, Ginny's sons, Jason, Jack sitting out there in the audience, seeing your son honored.

What thoughts were going through your mind?

Well, the first thought that came to my mind was well deserved.

Absolutely.

Whatever God has for you, no man can take it away and I felt like once again, well deserved.

Absolutely.

Speaking of well deserved, there's a portion of the book near the end and it's called A Letter to the parents of a Gifted Child.

So you and your husband, Willie shared some poignant advice for parents out there.

Give us a little snapshot.

Well, one of the things that, we felt is that parents need to be aware of the people that they are surrounding their child with.

And nowadays, it's so much easier.

You know, we didn't have Google, you know, but not only do you need to be aware of the people, but you need to be supportive of your child if this is one of their goals, whatever it may be, you support them in their goal.

It hasn't have to be anything you like or you enjoy doing, but this is them.

That's what they want.

So you support them.

Absolutely.

Now, Michael pearly white smiling over there.

You've been a busy, busy, busy man.

This is going to be a wonderful event that is forthcoming.

The Justin Gatlin Invitational the inaugural event.

We all know about that.

But having a Booker T Washington High School a short time ago.

But now we're foraying into another realm.

So why don't you tell us more?

Was actually the freshman and sophomore, freshman and sophomore for our freshmen and sophomores.

Yes.

And now it was only open to the state of Florida the inaugural year.

Now it's open to everyone across the United States.

And it is amazing.

Justin's idea was to allow a platform for these young athletes to shine.

Juniors and seniors, unless you are exceptional like he was, they say used to run races, fall down, get up, help people and still win.

Unless you are an exceptional athlete like that, you don't get a time to shine.

And so this is what this is about.

We're talking about the freshman and sophomore athletes.

Justin, I remember a quote last year you talked about the perseverance and giving them an opportunity to shine when the two of you paired up.

What does this mean to you knowing that it was at Booker T Washington High School?

Definitely.

You've been on that track.

You know, I went to Booker T my first two years of high school, and to be able to come back to that same school and be able to have the Justin Gatlin Invitational, having coach Mike really kind of helped put all those things together.

It was like a dream come true.

Me being away from Pensacola so much and traveling, competing and knowing that this invitational is in good hands with Golden Elite, I couldn't be more prouder.

And I couldn't be more proud as well.

I see, Michael, that you're smiling the whole time because we have to encourage our young people.

Both of you do so much on and off the track to help them.

And lastly, Justin, any advice that you would give personally to doesn't have to be an athlete, but just anyone who is trying to seek a goal or achieve a dream.

Be obsessed with the process.

Believe in who you are, what you what you're what you came to do, right?

That means a lot, because some people are going to go through hardship and not know how to navigate themselves out of it.

But also remember what got you to that starting line to begin with.

You have some courage.

You have some passion.

You have some love.

Always use as a grounding point for you.

I love that.

Well said, Mom and Michael, I know that you agree and you are such a champion, a wonderful man, and it's an honor to have been able to share this platform with all of you.

Now, folks, I want to thank all of our guests for joining us.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary.

Remember to keep it locked in right here on WSRE PBS for the Gulf Coast.