Istanbul: Justin Gatlin's fear of fading into obscurity disappeared in a blaze of gold at the world indoor championships.
Shortly after teammate Ashton Eaton set a heptathlon world record on an all-American day in Istanbul, Gatlin earned his first gold medal since serving a four-year doping suspension by coming back on Nesta Carter to win the 60 meters in 6.46 seconds - .08 seconds better than his Jamaican rival.
"It feels like I am reborn again," Gatlin said, insisting he would be gunning for the London Olympics at age 30, eight years after winning the 100 title at the 2004 Athens Games.
Much like his return from suspension, his final was also a fightback from behind as Carter seemed poised for gold with a lightning start.
"I just went and grabbed him and passed him," Gatlin said.
After his suspension ended in mid-2010, Gatlin worked off the pounds and got the spring back in his sprint, enough to show off his chiseled features even before Saturday's final of redemption.
"The name of the game is relevancy. One of my biggest fears was to be ignored," Gatlin said.
No more.
His run even had uncanny references to his past, well before he started his doping suspension after testing positive for excessive testosterone in 2006. In 2003, he won his first world indoor title with the exact same time.
"So it was a rebirth," he said, less than five months before the London Games.
Bronze-medalist Dwain Chambers, however, is still not sure if he will be allowed to compete at the Olympics in his home country.
Like Gatlin, he once was one of sport's most infamous doping cheats. Now he is looking for redemption, too, but his own Olympic federation refuses to take former doping offenders on its team.
On Monday, there is a hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a decision whether to overturn the ban is expected in April.
"I have no idea what my future holds," Chambers said.
Neither does Eaton, but he only has to worry about qualifying for the U.S. decathlon team for London.
Eaton dominated the two-day heptathlon competition from start to finish and capped it with an overwhelming 1,000 meters in the concluding event to break the record he set last year with a total of 6,645 points. The old mark was 6,568 points.
Eaton led throughout the seven-event discipline. From early on, he was ahead of record pace, too.
"I was good, fit and healthy, and if all things went well I knew I would be able to do it," said Eaton, who will likely be competing for decathlon gold at the London Olympics in August. "If I keep training, the way I am making improvements it should be a good outdoor season."
Eaton raced into the lead when the competition began on Friday, setting a personal best of 8.16 meters in the long jump. He also won the 60 meters, 60-meter hurdles and the pole vault, making up for third-place finishes in the shot put and high jump. And there was no stopping him in the 1,000 as he knew another world record was on the line.
"Every 200 meters, I would look at the clock and I was thinking, 'Geez, I'm kind of falling off pace. Pick it up. Pick it up. It's hard when you're running by yourself," Eaton said. "You don't have that person to chase. But I was chasing a record."
Despite his record-setting form, it was his first world title. "I will now be preparing for the Olympic trials, which you know are very competitive in the U.S.," Eaton said.
On Friday, Nataliya Dobrynska of Ukraine set a world record in the pentathlon, turning the multi-events into a heavy draw on the purse of the organizers as each won $90,000 for the gold and the record.
Sanya Richards-Ross added another gold for the United States on Saturday, running from the front in the 400 to win in 50.79, and holding off Russian rival Aleksandra Fedoriva by a massive .97 seconds.
"I'm happy that I came out and took the lead early," said Richards-Ross, who avoided all the hustle when the runners bunch up halfway through the race by running in front.
And her own gold held special significance considering her husband Aaron Ross, who plays for the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants.
"Just realized.... My hubby and I are both World Champs in a matter of weeks!!!," Richards-Ross wrote on Twitter.
And Chaunte Lowe, a mother of two, made it even better for the Americans by taking the high jump over outdoor champion Anna Chicherova, another mother.
Genzebe Dibaba added to her Ethiopian family dynasty by winning the 1,500 title at 21, adding more medals to a sisterhood which also includes two-time Olympic gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba and 2004 Olympic 10,000 silver medalist Ejegayehu Dibaba.
"This is the first major victory of my career," Dibaba said. "It was tough but I am happy to start the Olympic year with this world title.
Dibaba ran with the poise and tactics of a veteran and sheer speed of a youngster to finish in 4:05.78, two seconds ahead of Mariem Alaoui Selsouli of Morocco.
Abdalaati Iguider did one better for Morocco in the men's 1,500, sweeping past Ilham Tanui Ozbilen of Turkey in the final meters to deny the cheering crowds of a hometown win.
Three months after breaking his left hand, Renaud Lavillenie of France won the pole vault with a world leading jump of 5.95 meters, and Valerie Adams of New Zealand the women's shot put.
Britain got its first gold from 39-year-old Yamile Aldama, a Cuban-born triple jumper who also competed for Sudan before gaining British citizenship two years ago. She had a season's best 14.82 meters to beat defending champion Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan by 19 centimeters.
"Better late than never," Aldama said. "This is my first world title."
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