SACRAMENTO (AFP) - The next generation of American sprinting talent will be on display Thursday when the U.S. Track and Field Championships get under way in Sacramento with places at this year's World Championships up for grabs.
With Usain Bolt preparing to hang up his spikes later this year, the athletics world will get a glimpse of the sprinters likely to be in the frame to inherit the Jamaican star's throne when he departs the sport.
For the best part of a decade, drug-tainted veteran Justin Gatlin has been the dominant force in American sprinting over 100m and 200m, while remaining an emphatic second best against Bolt in major championships.
Gatlin finished runner-up to the Jamaican twice in the 100m at the last two world championships in 2013 and 2015, and once again at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last August.
But the grizzled 35-year-old will be back at Sacramento's Hornet Stadium this week hoping to book his place on the U.S. team for the World Championships at London in August -- and possibly another showdown with Bolt.
However, Gatlin might well find himself in a dogfight just to qualify for London judging by his results this season.
Gatlin, who has a 100m personal best of 9.74 seconds set in 2015, has not come close to that kind of time this year, only once ducking below 10 seconds.
He clocked a disappointing fifth place at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting a month ago in Eugene, Oregon.
More significantly, while Gatlin has struggled to rediscover his best form, American sprinting has been crackling with excitement over the displays of collegiate star Christian Coleman.
The 21-year-old University of Tennessee prodigy sent shockwaves rippling throughout the athletics world earlier this month when he scorched to a world-leading fastest time of the season, 9.82.
The fact that Coleman eased up as he crossed the line in the U.S. college championships semi-final suggests he has the potential to go faster.
Conditions in Sacramento this week are likely to suit fast times, with the mercury forecast to reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).
Coleman was a teammate of Gatlin on the U.S. squad in Rio last season, an alternate in the 4x100m relay squad. The youngster revealed that Gatlin had become a mentor to him.
****Veteran sprinter Justin Gatlin has become a mentor to prodigy and rival Christian Coleman (AFP Photo/ANDY LYONS)