Gatlin throws down gauntlet to Usain Bolt

Justin Gatlin does not care for his portrayal as the villain of sprinting, the dastardly figure quietly blowing athletics apart.

The American refuses to look backwards, never explaining why he tested positive for testosterone - his second failed drugs test - in 2006 or apologising for doing so. He does not try to win the crowds over, perhaps knowing he will never manage to do so.

As divisive sporting figures go, he is up there with the best - or worst.

That all of this matters was shown in 9.74 seconds in Doha on Friday night - the time it took for him to run the fastest 100 metres of his life and record his 19th straight win spanning more than a year. "I'm the man to beat," he had said in the build-up to the first Diamond League event of the season.

But Gatlin, 33, was not talking about Doha; he was talking about the World Championships, the Olympics and ending the reign of Usain Bolt.

Since that astonishing evening when Bolt, 28, stormed to Olympic 100m gold in the Bird's Nest Stadium back in 2008, the Jamaican has been the undisputed king of the sport.

Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake and many more have threatened to dethrone the champion, flexing their muscles on the start line before failing to achieve their mission. The difference with Gatlin is in his head. He does not think he will beat Bolt. He knows it.

"When you stand on that line it's about what you believe," says Darren Campbell, former Olympic 4x100m champion. "Gatlin believes he can break the world record and he can win. This is not just talk. Gatlin believes it and that's what makes him extremely dangerous. There have been other people who potentially could have contested Bolt's title but the difference with Gatlin is he won't be mentally shaken and that's so important when you come up against Bolt.

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"Whether people like or appreciate that he is back in the sport, he literally doesn't care. He understands the stakes, he understands the game and he's ready to play."

Reacquainted with his Nike shoes after the company reversed its decision to drop him following his drugs ban, Gatlin was a clear favourite to triumph in Doha.

A quick time was anticipated, but the American surpassed all expectation with a personal best to leave a world-class field in his wake.

It was left to fellow American Michael Rodgers to lead the also-rans, clocking 9.96sec for second.

Gatlin set six of the seven fastest 100m times of the year last season.

He is indeed now "the man to beat", but his detractors point to one crucial caveat: Bolt has not tried to do so for 18 months.

In the absence of any global championships, the Jamaican gave his weary legs a much-deserved rest last season in anticipation of the final three years of his career. Hampered by hamstring niggles, Bolt wrote the season off and now finds himself in the unfamiliar position of no longer being world No1.

At the World Relays earlier this month he was reduced to offering assurance after assurance that he would return to his best after Gatlin and the American 4x100m team had inflicted Bolt's first relay defeat in Jamaican colours since 2007.

"All I need is races and I'll get into shape," he said.

But, as Gatlin whooped and hollered on his lap of honour, Bolt's demeanour betrayed another story. That famous showman arrogance was absent.

The question now is whether the Bolt that became a global household name has been lying dormant or whether he has truly gone.