What if Gatlin was innocent?
"How do you want to be remembered?"
That was my final question when I interviewed the former Olympic and World 100m champion Justin Gatlin recently.
"That's a good question," said the 27-year-old American.
Gatlin is ready to lace up his spikes and return to the track when his four-year ban from the sport ends in July.
By the end of the season will we have seen the return of an athlete who, since the day he for testosterone, has proclaimed his innocence?
Gatlin's story could easily give a prime-time soap opera a run for its money, with the fastest man in the world encountering lawsuits, unpaid bonuses and broken noses, with accusations of phone tapping and sabotage by his masseur.
The story looks complicated, but for some people it is very straightforward. They would argue that he is a cheat who should never set foot on a track again.
But has anyone ever wondered if he is telling the truth?
I'm Katharine Merry, former world 400m number one and an Olympic bronze medallist at Sydney 2000. I'm now a mentor to junior athletes as well as working in radio and TV, and as a trackside presenter at major events. I'll be aiming to give you a behind-the-scenes insight to the world of athletics.
