Gatlin becomes fifth-fastest in 200m history

Justin Gatlin runs in the Mens 200 Meter semi finals during the 2015 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Oregon, June 29 (IANS) US sprinter Justin Gatlin became the fifth-fastest 200 metres runner in history as he won the final at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.

The 33-year-old American, who has served two doping bans, recorded a time of 19.57 seconds in Oregon on Sunday, reports bbc.com.

It bettered the 19.68 secs he ran in May which, at that stage, was the best in the world. "I wanted to go out and make a statement, and that's what I did," Gatlin said.

Gatlin has been the dominant sprinter in 2015, having also achieved the quickest time in the 100 metres (9.74 secs).He will go up against 100m and 200m world-record holder Usain Bolt in both events at August's World Championships in Beijing.

In a race run in a legal wind of 0.4 metres per second, Gatlin finished ahead of Isiah Young (19.93 secs) and Wallace Spearmon (20.10 secs) to record the joint-11th quickest 200m in history.