Former Vols Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman chasing American record at Tennessee relays

Christian Coleman was 8 years old in 2004.

That same year, Justin Gatlin won his first Olympic gold medal, blistering through the 100-meter dash at the Athens Games.

The reality of the age gap between the two former Tennessee track stars came up in conversation Friday between the now teammates, who form half of a team attempting to set an American record in the 4x100-meter relay on Saturday at the Tennessee Relays.

“This is one of my homes,” Gatlin said. “This is where I feel like I really started. I got my shot. I have had six NCAA individual championships here. …

“And obviously with the amazing things that Christian Coleman has done here recently, it was a no-brainer for me to bring it back home and partner with Christian and two other guys who have been tearing up track lately.”

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Gatlin and Coleman have paired up with Ronnie Baker and Mike Rodgers to chase the  American record of 37.38 seconds, which has been set twice.

Gatlin was on both record-setting relays, reaching the mark initially at the 2012 London Games. Gatlin and Rodgers were on the second relay team, which matched the record at the 2015 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in the Bahamas.

“I feel like we are bringing a lot more firepower for (Saturday),” said Rodgers, who is a five-time USA track and field national champion. “I feel like we have a little more brotherhood.”

This time, Gatlin and his agent, former 110-meter hurdles world-record holder Renaldo Nehemiah, sparked the four-man team and hand-picked the members.

Gatlin, who competed at Tennessee from 2000-02, said the conversation began last year at the world championships in London. He started talking with Coleman about teaming up to run races earlier in the year than usual, setting up a longer path to perfect their craft and pursue the record.

He then talked to Rodgers and Baker, who was a two-time NCAA 60-meter indoor champion at TCU, and all four agreed to jump on board.

“These are guys that I thought looked very well not just through the season, but also throughout the year,” Gatlin said. “They were willing to come on board and try this out. …  We are trying to make a different platform for the sprinters instead of competing against each other all the time. It’s really coming together and trying to show some camaraderie throughout the year.”

The group arrived in Knoxville on Thursday to hammer out 48 hours of training together. They spent time Friday practicing their handoffs, creating the synergy that Gatlin had in mind when he sought to start the training earlier with less hands-on coaching and a more athlete-led approach.

Tennessee director of track and field Beth Alford-Sullivan said UT was “thrilled” to host the record attempt at 2:10 p.m. ET Saturday as part of the Tennessee Relays.

“There was no hesitation from Tennessee’s side to be able put this together,” Alford-Sullivan said.

For Gatlin, the experience of running on Tom Black Track at UT was “like magic” and left him with a strong sense of nostalgia Friday.

“I felt flashbacks of me running here in orange,” said Gatlin, 36. “To have the opportunity to come back here and run, it has been amazing.”

Coleman, who won the Bowerman Award in December as the top collegiate track and field athlete, said it was a “no-brainer” to join Gatlin in pursuit of the record. He also called it a humbling experience to compete on the same team with Gatlin, with whom he has formed a relationship through his career as a Vol and through the Olympic trials.

“For me, growing up in the sport, he was an icon — somebody I looked up to in the sport,” said Coleman, who set an indoor 60-meter record earlier this year with a time of 6.34 seconds.

Now, the two former Vols — and the two top finishers in the 100 meters at last year’s IAAF world outdoor championships — will be racing together with a big goal in mind in the first of an expected three attempts at setting a record.

“Running with these guys has been awesome,” Gatlin said. “Even just competing against these guys has been awesome. To be able to be on the same team with them — and not forced to be on the same team with them, but wanting to do it together — it’s been something that has been a bucket list thing for me to be able to do and I’m happy to be able to do this tomorrow with these guys.”