US sprinter Justin Gatlin has vowed to challenge Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake this year, as he prepares to come up against Bolt over 100 metres in Rome on Thursday night.

Usain Bolt suffered a rare 100 metres defeat when he was beaten by drugs cheat Justin Gatlin in Rome. The Olympic champion said he stumbled after making the ‘perfect start’ and could not catch Gatlin, who won bronze behind Bolt in the 100m in London.

The 26-year-old Jamaican came second in a 100m sprint in Rome yesterday, beaten by American Justin Gatlin, 31, who came in at 9.94 seconds compared to Bolt's 9.95.

Usain Bolt didn't seem too bothered by his shock defeat in Rome on Friday night as he was spotted enjoying the French Open men's singles final on Sunday between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.

Justin Gatlin remained unbeaten this season by winning the 100 metres at the Golden Spike meet on Tuesday, clocking 9.86 seconds to improve his own world-leading time of the year.

One former drugs cheat, Justin Gatlin, ran the quickest 100m time in the world this year on Thursday night, while another, Tyson Gay, made his comeback with 9.93secs in second place.

On Thursday night in Lausanne, Switzerland, three sprinters broke the 10-second barrier for the 100 metres: Justin Gatlin, Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers. Gatlin’s 9.80secs was the quickest time in the world this year.

American drug cheat Justin Gatlin won the 100m in Brussels on Friday evening with a years best time of 9.77s, amid controversy that the twice-banned sprinter shouldn't even be allowed to compete.

Research undertaken at the University of Oslo shows that dope cheats such as Justin Gatlin could still be benefiting from taking banned substances years after initial usage.

Sebastian Coe has questioned the nomination of former drugs cheat Justin Gatlin as one of the IAAF's athletes of the year after the new research in to long-lasting effects of steroids.

Former Olympic champion and convicted drugs cheat Justin Gatlin has been handed a new sponsorship deal by Nike, sparking outrage in the Athletics world.

By giving a new sportswear deal to twice-convicted drugs cheat Justin Gatlin, Nike is legitimising the taking of performance-enhancing drugs in sport by making a cheat look cool.

Justin Gatlin sent a message to Usain Bolt on Friday - both with his legs and his mouth. Gatlin lived up to the pre-season hype by winning the 100m in a world-leading 9.74 seconds in Doha.

Sprinter Justin Gatlin ran into a new row on Tuesday when he flew home on the eve of the Beijing World Challenge, claiming organisers told him they did not want him competing.

Organisers of the Beijing World Challenge have denied that they kicked out Justin Gatlin from their meeting and said they were 'perplexed' by the controversial sprinter's claim.

Justin Gatlin added the year's fastest 200m time to his resume at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting.  Gatlin equalled his lifetime best with his run of 19.68 seconds

Justin Gatlin insisted he was not thinking about beating Usain Bolt to gold at the World Championships later this year after another stunning win in the 100 metres.

Usain Bolt has rubbished reports that he is afraid to face Justin Gatlin. Bolt has had an injury-ravaged season and the pair are yet to meet in 2015 but Bolt is gunning for Gatlin at World Championships

MARTHA KELNER: Justin Gatlin can produce a nightmare scenario for advocates of clean sport by breaking Usain Bolt’s 100metres world record this summer, according to ex-sprinter John Regis.

Controversial Justin Gatlin set the stage for a world championship showdown with Usain Bolt when he won the 200 metres in a blazing 19.57 seconds at the U.S. trials in Oregon on Sunday

The credibility of Alberto Salazar’s defence against doping allegations has been further undermined by an interview he gave about a controversial incident involving Justin Gatlin in 2006.

Switzerland is renowned for being neutral but the country nailed its colours to the mast where drug cheats are concerned by hosting the dirtiest Diamond League race this century.

Next month’s World Championships men’s 100m final is in danger of rivalling the 1988 Olympic final in Seoul as the ‘Dirtiest Race in History’.

Justin Gatlin could win world championships and go undefeated for a second consecutive season but he would still not be ineligible for the sport's athlete of the year award.

Justin Gatlin accused British Athletics of hypocrisy after they refused to invite him to compete in the London Anniversary Games, despite paying other drugs cheats to appear.

Usain Bolt blew away any fears about his fitness and fired a major warning to Justin Gatlin as he blasted to his fastest 100 metres of the year on his return to the Olympic Stadium on Friday night.

MARTHA KELNER AT THE OLYMPIC STADIUM: Usain Bolt allayed any concerns over his fitness, twice running 100m in 9.87 seconds at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games.

Usain Bolt celebrated his first serious 100metres win of the season by celebrating in London. Bolt was spotted at swanky west London nightclub Libertines following his 9.87 second win.

On Sunday night the best 100m sprinters in the world will settle down on to their blocks in the iconic Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, the scene of much heroics in the 2008 Olympics.

MATT LAWTON: Seb Coe has said he will feel ‘queasy’ should Justin Gatlin, or any other convicted drugs cheat, win gold at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: Usain Bolt goes head to head with the two-time drug cheat over 100m and 200m at the World Championships in Beijing this weekend.

Usain Bolt turns 29 on Friday. There might be a modest slice of cake and a rendition of Happy Birthday from his Jamaican team-mates but otherwise the significance of the day will be ignored.

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: The roll call of winners from the first round of the World Championships 100m was almost farcical with four of the seven previously serving drugs bans.

OLIVER HOLT: If Justin Gatlin wins, it will be a terrible indictment of a sport. If Usain Bolt wins, it will merely reinforce the idea that he is all that stands between athletics and oblivion.

Usain Bolt managed to survive a stuttering start to move into the World Championships 100m final in Beijing, setting up an enticing showdown with Justin Gatlin, who stormed through in his heat.

As Usain Bolt fulfilled his final media duties inside the Bird’s Nest stadium after winning 100m gold, with cleaners tidying around him and, a fan draped draped in the Jamaican flag screamed: ‘Yes Usain Bolt!'

American sprinter Justin Gatlin will refuse to speak to British media and the BBC in the future following 'hurtful attacks' and 'biased views' in reports having won silver in the 100m World Championship final.

'Good versus evil' is a step closer to resuming in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Beijing after Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin cruised into the semi-finals.

Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin set up the sequel to their world championship sprint showdown on Wednesday, both winning their semifinal heats in the 200 metres.

Justin Gatlin hopes the public will see him as a 'human being' rather than a drugs cheat after the World Championships. Gatlin finished second in the 100m and 200m in Beijing.

CHARLES SALE: Lord Coe’s unparalleled reputation as Britain’s leading sporting statesman is in danger of being tainted by his continued links with Nike.

Justin Gatlin is the 100m Diamond League champion after taking a closely-fought victory in Brussels at the final Diamond League meeting of the year.

JONATHAN MCEVOY: 20 years on from becoming the only man to claim an Olympic 200m and 400m double, Michael Johnson opens up on the problems facing his friend Lord Coe and British hopes in Rio.

USA's Justin Gatlin, 34, hopes to become the fastest man in the world, beating out rival sprinter Jamaican Usain Bolt. The New Yorker has been banned from the Olympics twice for doping

Usain Bolt and America’s Justin Gatlin have both won through their 100m semi-final heats to set-up an epic Olympic final later tonight.

Losing is one thing. Justin Gatlin didn't expect he'd get booed at the Olympic 100-metre final, too. He took silver for the United States, in Rio on Sunday, edged by rival Usain Bolt of Jamaica.

The Jamaican was forced to settle for third in his final solo race at the London Stadium on Saturday after being beaten by the USA's Christian Coleman, who claimed silver, and Justin Gatlin, who won the gold.

Bolt claimed all the headlines as the star of a generation took his final bow in an emotional night in the English capital. And his sporting contemporaries paid homage to his career.

Lord Coe has admitted that athletics is losing the fight to ban drugs cheats for life after Justin Gatlin's 100 metres World Championship victory over Usain Bolt at the London Stadium.

Justin Gatlin was again cast as the pantomime villain by the crowd at the London Stadium on Sunday as he collected his 100m gold medal after beating Usain Bolt to re-gain his world title.