By Patricia Uyeh,

After successfully  dethroning world champion, Usain Bolt on the track, 35-year-old Justin Gatlin carted home the gold medal at the IAAF world championship.

The 35-year-old was jeered on the podium on his return to the London Stadium on Sunday evening to be presented with his gold medal by Lord Coe.

However, his father, William Gatlin undeterred by the crowd jeering,  lambasted them, calling them disrespectful. He said :

“The fans booing is disrespectful to the sport. The sport has always been here and is going to be here after he leaves. He created a memory that is going to be in people’s minds a long time.

“He served his ban and he worked his heart out doing what he could,” he added.

“He wasn’t just lying around. He worked to come back to the sport and he worked his way back to championship form.

“For the youngsters coming up, he is trying to help to tutor and help to be good, clean athletes. He is trying to teach good character and good sportsmanship about themselves.

“I don’t think he has regrets, it is a lesson learned. Everything happens for a reason and it gives you teaching moments. We have been through it all and we bear it all.”

Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, blew a kiss to the crowd and clasped his hands together as he received his medal from world athletics Chief Coe, who hours earlier had branded his triumph “not the perfect script”.

Photo credit : the Telegraph