Gatlin out to prove he's still the man to beat in Shanghai

Justin Gatlin, reigning world champion in the 100m sprint, intends to pull out all the stops in Saturday's race at the 2018 Shanghai Diamond League athletics competition.

"I want to get a world-leading time in Shanghai. I ran at the Grenada Invitational earlier this year and the track was a little slower, but the track here is a little faster and harder, so I want to be able to get the job done and put away a strong competition," the 36-year-old said at Thursday's pre-competition media event at Qibao Middle School, where he met with student athletes.

"There are going to be Chinese and Japanese athletes in the race on Saturday and they are good contenders. I think this is going to be one of the best races of the year so far," he added.