The injuries and illness have cut into his training, but Gatlin's still looking forward to his first nationals in five years. He's planning to run the 100 and possibly the 200 as well this weekend, depending on how his body holds up.

"The last couple of weeks I've been beat up, but now I feel good," Gatlin said in a phone interview after arriving in town for a meet that will decide the team bound for worlds in South Korea later this summer. "I'm ready."

Once one of the fastest men on the planet, Gatlin sat out for four years after testing positive for excessive testosterone in April 2006.

He returned to the sport last summer, but a dark cloud still hovers over him. He's recently been competing in minor meets in Europe, but is still excluded from major European events.

This was a step forward for him: Gatlin was added to the field at the Prefontaine Classic on June 4 when other sprinters dropped out. His time of 9.97 seconds at Pre ¿ on the same track used for nationals ¿ makes him the fourth-fastest American this season.

"Everyone should get a second chance," said Gatlin, who captured gold in the 100 at the 2004 Olympic Games. "I just want to come back to the sport."

Gatlin realizes he can't change the public's perception of him, so he just concentrates on the one thing he can control: running fast.

In his heyday, Gatlin was the best in the game. He tied the then 100-meter world record of 9.77 seconds, a run that came weeks after a positive test and has since been erased.

The 29-year-old is trying to make the world team against a field of Americans that includes Tyson Gay, Walter Dix and a fleet of fast, up-and-coming youngsters.

And before being labeled as the "old man in the blocks," Gatlin points out he's nearly the same age as Gay (29 in August) and Jamaica's Asafa Powell (29 in November).

"I don't think I've lost a beat or a step," Gatlin said. "I'm back where I need to be."