Gatlin and Powell dicuss the Olympic Trials in July

Justin Gatlin was an eighth grader when Suzy Powell qualified for her first Olympic Games. When Powell made her second Olympic team in 2000, Gatlin had just finished leading his high school track team to the Florida state championship.

The 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Sacramento represent familiar turf to Powell, a veteran discus thrower from nearby Modesto. For Gatlin, a young sprinter with a world of promise, the Trials are uncharted territory.

But he’s done his geography homework.

“Right now, Sacramento is more than important than Athens,” Gatlin said.

To attain the ultimate reward – a gold medal or two this summer in Athens, Greece – Gatlin understands that the road heads west before it turns east toward the birthplace of the Olympic Games.

Gatlin and Powell attended a press conference Thursday morning in downtown Sacramento. With the U.S. Olympic Trials less than four months away, their thoughts are similar, even if their events and backgrounds aren’t.

“This is the calm before the storm,” Powell said. “Hopefully we’ll be seeing a level-5 hurricane by June or July.”

The 2004 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials will be held July 9-18 at Hornet Stadium on the Sacramento State campus. The top three finishers in each event will qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, assuming they have met the Olympic ‘A’ qualifying standard in their events. (Powell and Gatlin both have ‘A’ qualifiers.)

Powell, 27, will be attempting to qualify for her third Olympic team. Gatlin, 22, will be shooting for his first.

“I’m really excited to see what I can do – to see if I can put myself to the next level,” said Gatlin, who lives and trains in Raleigh, N.C. “I think there’s a window of opportunity for me right now.”

In two seasons at the University of Tennessee, Gatlin won six NCAA sprint titles and helped the Volunteers win the national championship in 2001. Figuring he needed new worlds to conquer, he turned professional following his sophomore season in 2002.

In 2003, his first season on the international circuit, Gatlin won a world indoor title and earned one of the biggest one-day paychecks in track history - $500,000 for winning the 100-meter dash at the Moscow Challenge. Another highlight came when he tied for first at the prestigious Weltklasse meet in Zurich, Switzerland, clocking a personal-best 9.97. Gatlin finished the year ranked fourth in the world by Track & Field News.

With defending Olympic champion Maurice Greene and world record holder Tim Montgomery experiencing sub-par seasons in 2003, many observers believe Gatlin is ready to assume the role of Olympic favorite. While he believes he’s up to the challenge, he speaks respectfully of his elders.

“You can’t really count those people out,” Gatlin said. “They’ve done a lot of great things in the past.”

Gatlin provided a light moment when asked about the $500,000 he won last September in Moscow.

“Big money moves slow,” Gatlin said. “I’m still waiting on some of that. I’m being patient. I’ve been paid some of it, but not all of it.”

Prior to coming to Sacramento, Gatlin did a photo shoot in Southern California for Nike, which plans to feature him prominently in its Olympic-year marketing campaign. He plans to double in the 100 and 200 at the Olympic Trials – something he did regularly as a collegian but shied away from last year due to fear of injury.

“I feel the 200 is my most mature event,” said Gatlin, who clocked 19.86 while at Tennessee. “My goal is to be my old self … to go out there and double like I did in college.”

Half-million-dollar paydays are beyond the reach of female discus throwers. But Powell, a ninth-place finisher at the 2003 World Championships, isn’t selling herself short.

“I’m hoping to come back (from the Olympics) with a medal,” she said. “If I didn’t believe I had the opportunity to get it done, I wouldn’t be here. That’s my attitude.”

The 2000 Olympic Trials attracted sellout crowds for each of the eight days of competition, and meet organizers have sold approximately 50 percent of the tickets for 2004.

“Obviously I’m very pleased to have the Olympic Trials in my backyard,” Powell said. “The city of Sacramento makes the athletes feel very welcome. It’s quite an honor and privilege to be a part of it.”

Trials notes – Four-day ticket packages for the 2004 Trials go on sale April 1. Single-day tickets are available beginning May 15. For ticket information, call (916) 566-6560 or visit www.sacsports.com … Gatlin said he plans to compete in a couple of California meets prior to the Olympic Trials, specifically mentioning the Mt. SAC Relays and the Modesto Relays … Gatlin failed to qualify for the 2003 World Championships after suffering a hamstring injury during a race in Mexico City last spring. Nonetheless, he attended the world meet in Paris as a spectator. “I went to worlds to get the same feeling I’ll get at the Olympic Trials and the Olympics,” he said.