Agency report
Monte Carlo, May 18 (Thursday, 5-30 am IST): Justin Gatlin equaled but did not break the 100-meter world record at the Qatar Grand Prix last week, the sport's governing body said on Wednesday.
The International Association of Athletics Federations said a timing error in Doha gave Gatlin a time of 9.76 seconds, which was one-hundredth of a second below Asafa Powell's world mark of 9.77.
The IAAF said Gatlin's time was actually 9.766 seconds, and that should have been manually rounded up to 9.77.
The time has now been adjusted to 9.77 and, pending ratification, will equal the record set by Powell in Athens, Greece, on June 14, 2005, the IAAF said.
The IAAF said it acted after being informed of the error by Tissot Timing.
The 24-year-old American sprinter received wide acclaim after been credited with breaking the record Friday - giving him the unofficial title of the world's fastest human.
"This was a perfect race,'' Gatlin said then. ''I am a competitor and I promised I would get the world record and I have done it. ... Now I can say I'm the fastest in the world, and it feels great.''
Gatlin is the reigning Olympic and world champion in the 100.
Gatlin and Powell are scheduled to face each other for the first time this year at the Gateshead meet in England on June 11.
When Powell set the record last year, he bettered the mark of 9.79 set by Maurice Greene in Athens in June 1999.
Tim Montgomery's mark of 9.78, set in Paris in 2002, was wiped off the books when he was suspended for two years based on information uncovered in the BALCO doping scandal.
Gatlin's previous best was the 9.85 he ran in winning the Olympic gold in Athens in 2004.
His time was 9.88 when he won the world title last year in Helsinki, Finland. He also won the world 200-meter title.