A five-time Olympic medalist, Justin Gatlin was banned from track and field from 2006 to 2010 for doping.
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Nike has reportedly given an endorsement deal to former Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin, who once received a ban from track and field for doping.
SportingNews reported that Gatlin and fellow sprinter Tyson Gay have been given Nike kits for the 2015 outdoor track and field competitions.
Gatlin was previously with Nike, but was dropped by the apparel giant after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2006. He was originally given an eight-year ban that was reduced to four and made his return to track and field in August 2010.
A five-time Olympic medalist, Gatlin won the Gold medal for the 100m dash at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. That same year he won a Silver medal for the 4 x 100m relay and Bronze for the 200m relay. In 2012 at the Olympics in London, he once again won Silver for the 4 x 100m relay and took Bronze in the 100m dash behind Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.
The 33-year-old Gatlin is coming off a great year where he was the 2014 world leader in the 100-meter (9.77, Brussels) and 200-meter dash (19.68, Monaco).
Gatlin is one of the few athletes ever dropped by Nike for off-the-field issues to be given a new deal with the company. Other infamous names that Nike has dropped include Michael Vick, Lance Armstrong and Ray Rice. Gatlin will be making his 2015 debut at the Texas Relays this weekend.
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