University of Tennessee Athletics
GATLIN WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE JESSE OWENS AWARD
November 29, 2005 | Men's Track
Nov. 29, 2005
Former Vol sprinter Justin Gatlin (2001-02) won the prestigious Jesse Owens Award for the second consecutive year as announced Monday by USA Track & Field. Gatlin strengthened his claim as track and field's top global superstar during the 2005 campaign, sweeping the 100 and 200 meters at both the IAAF world outdoor championships and the USA outdoor championships.
Established in 1981, the Jesse Owens Award is USA Track & Field's highest accolade, presented annually to the outstanding U.S. male and female track and field performers. Fellow sprinter Allyson Felix won the 2005 women's Jesse Owens Award.
Jesse Owens Award winners are selected in balloting of members of the U.S. track and field media. Other finalists for the men's Jesse Owens Award were Bryan Clay, Bershawn Jackson, Adam Nelson, Dwight Phillips and Jeremy Wariner.
"I was thrilled to be the recipient of the Jesse Owens Award in 2004, and to win it again this year is simply amazing," Gatlin said. "My congratulations go out to everyone on the U.S. team that did such a fantastic job at the world outdoor championships in Helsinki, and to each of the 2005 Jesse Owens Award finalists for all their amazing accomplishments.
Gatlin's two awards from 2004 and 2005 give the Volunteers three consecutive Jesse Owens Award winners, as decathlete Tom Pappas won the 2003 honor. On the men's side, only one other school can claim three consecutive Jesse Owens Awards, as former Baylor star Michael Johnson took home the acclaimed prize in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Tennessee stands tied for second with Baylor in the number of male Jesse Owens Award winners the school has produced (three). Only UCLA's four Jesse Owens Award winners ranks better, thanks to Willie Banks (1985), Kevin Young (1992) and John Godina (1998 and 2001).
Gatlin joins an exclusive club of two-time Jesse Owens Award winners. Including both men and women, only Carl Lewis (1982 and 1991), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1986 and 1987), Gail Devers (1993 and 1996), Godina (1998 and 2001) and Stacy Dragila (2000 and 2001) had ever won two Jesse Owens Awards. In addition, Johnson (1994, 1995 and 1996) and Marion Jones (1997, 1998 and 2002) stand as the only three-time winners. Gatlin joins Joyner-Kersee, Johnson, Jones and Dragila as the only five people to win USA Track & Field's top honor in consecutive seasons.
In 2005, Gatlin improved on his banner 2004 season, no small feat considering the former Vol won a complete set of medals at the Athens Olympics and staked claim to the title of "World's Fastest Man.
The 2005 world outdoor championships in Helsinki, Finland, provided Gatlin with his biggest platform, and he gave an epic performance. He first won the 100 with a time of 9.88 seconds, defeating the rest of the field by the biggest margin in world championships history (0.17 seconds). His 200 victory (20.04) made him only the second man ever to complete a successful 100/200 double at the meet, following Maurice Greene in 1999. Gatlin had given an indication of his double-gold intentions at the USA outdoor championships, where he became the first man since 1985 to win the 100/200 double.
Establishing himself as the world's top big-meet, championship runner, Gatlin also posted impressive times in 2005. The 23-year-old ran under 10 seconds five times in the 100, including times of 9.88, 9.89, 9.96 and 9.99. He posted six of the top eight 100 times by an American and earned victories at many of the world's most prestigious invitational meets, including at the Nike Prefontaine Classic, and in London, Rome, Brussels, Yokohama and Shanghai.
"Allyson and Justin showed the world that the United States is stronger than ever in the sprints," USATF CEO Craig Masback said. "Allyson's undefeated season and Justin's double sprint victories were some of the most memorable moments of the year. In addition to their athletic victories, they demonstrate what is best about our sport every time they step on the track. We are fortunate to have athletes like them, and all of our Jesse Owens Awards finalists, leading Team USA.
This year's awards will be presented Thursday at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, held at the Hyatt Regency in Jacksonville, Fla. The ceremony is held in conjunction with USA Track & Field's 2005 Annual Meeting Nov. 30-Dec. 4. The permanent commemorative Jesse Owens award is kept at USA Track and Field Headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind. Gatlin and Felix will receive a replica.
Compiling the former winners creates a star-studded list of USA Track and Field's best and brightest champions. The exclusive Jesse Owens Award club includes American greats such as Edwin Moses (1981), Lewis (1982 and 1991), Mary Decker (1983), Joan Benoit (1984), Willie Banks (1985), Joyner-Kersee (1986 and 1987), Florence Griffith Joyner (1988), Roger Kingdom (1989), Lynn Jennings (1990), Kevin Young (1992), Devers (1993 and 1996), Johnson (1994, 1995 and 1996), Allen Johnson (1997), Jones (1997, 1998 and 2002), Tim Montgomery (2002), Godina (1998 and 2001), Inger Miller (1999), Maurice Greene (1999), Dragila (2000 and 2001), Angelo Taylor (2000), Pappas (2003), Deena Kastor (2003), Gatlin (2004 and 2005), Joanna Hayes (2004) and Felix (2005).
Owens, the award's namesake and one of the all-time great U.S. track and field athletes, set three world records (long jump-26-8 1/4, 220 yd. dash-20.3 and 220 yd. low hurdles-22.6) and tied a fourth (100 yd. dash-9.4) all in just 70 minutes on May 25, 1935 at the Western Conference (now Big Ten) Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., in a performance the world will probably never see again. In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, Owens won four gold medals to throttle Hitler's propaganda Games. Owens won gold in the 100, 200, long jump and 4x100 relay in a display of American strength portending the emergence of Team USA as the world's top track and field team.
*Portions of release courtesy of USA Track and Field, www.usatf.org.
