Justin Gatlin reacts to NFL youngster Xavier Worthy's 40-yard Dash record

Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin, who won the Olympic gold medal in 2004, has claimed that he runs faster than Xavier Worthy after the latter broke Usain Bolt's 40-yard dash record at the NFL Combine 2024.

The NFL youngster recently clocked 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine to break the Jamaican's 2019 time of 4.22 seconds. Given Bolt's name behind it, the story went viral only to receive backlash from the athletic community.

Track and field enthusiasts, including stars such as Noah Lyles jumped in to defend Bolt's legacy and explained that he had made that run casually, and in jeans. Lyles wrote on X:

"Do we have to show the video of him running that time with jeans, no cleats, and no warming up. Just to remind y’all."

Now, Justin Gatlin has taken a jibe at Worthy's achievement. The Olympic champion has claimed that he runs faster than 4.21s in a 40-yard dash. Replying to an NFL video of Worthy's sprint, he wrote:

"Im running faster"

Gatlin has a personal best of 6.45s in 60m, 9.74s in 100m and 19.57s in 200m. While he hasn't run competitively in 40-yard dash competitions, the 4x world champion once claimed that he ran 4.20s.

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"I ran a 4.20 yesterday" - Justin Gatlin tries 40-yard dash

Athletics Olympic Test Event-Justin Gatlin

Last year, Justin Gatlin revealed that he was bidding to run in the 40-yard dash despite the fact that he had long retired from the track. The 42-year-old claimed that he had run 4.20s on the first day of practice.

"I ran a 4.20 yesterday on first day of practice", he told TMZ Sports.

Gatlin further revealed that he called it 'Project 40' and aimed to become the fastest 40-yard dash runner.

"I'm thinking a 4.19, I definitely can dip under the 4.20s, for sure! The project is 'Project 40'," he said.

Now that Xavier Worthy holds the NFL record in the 40-yard dash, Gatlin is faster than him if he did run 4.20s in first practice. Gatlin had also hinted at a comeback but hasn't made one yet.

Gatlin retired in 2022 but revealed last year that he was still training. The world champion added that if he wanted to make a comeback, he was capable of doing that.

"I've been training since I left the world of track and field. I'm not that far off. I think that if I want to come back, I can make that Olympic team for sure," Gatlin said.