Justin Gatlin lauded Masai Russell for her dominant performance at the 2025 US National Championships, where she topped the women's 100m hurdles to secure a spot in the World Championships roster for September 2025. Gatlin also heaped praise on the hurdler for her resilience on the track, battling an ankle injury. Justin Gatlin became the most decorated 100m athlete of all time with his eight global medals under his belt. His 100m podium win at the 2016 Rio Olympics made him the oldest track and field athlete at 34 to medal in a non-relay category at the Games. He retired on his 40th birthday in 2022, two years after his last podium finish at the Worlds. Continuing his involvement in sports, Gatlin began hosting the 'Ready Set Go' podcast with track coach, Rodney Green, in 2023, sharing their views on events and athletes, and everything related. At the 2025 US Championships, 100m hurdler Masai Russell clinched a dominant win in her signature event, dealing with an ankle injury, and garnered massive praise from Justin Gatlin.The latter called him the 'queen' of the event and promised never to deny her, despite her health setbacks. "In the champion form that she has, and the mindset she has, she went out there and handled business. She showed why she is the queen of the 100m hurdles right now. She did her thing, and she did it in a grand fashion. So hats off to her, we'll never deny you ever again even through injury." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostGreen also joined forces to commend Russell for storming to victory, leaving Grace Stark in second and Alaysha Johnson in third. Justin Gatlin shared how the Grand Slam Track league made the Diamond League increase its prize pool in just a yearJustin Gatlin at the 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 - Day Three - Source: GettyMichael Johnson, another track legend with four Olympic and eight World titles on his wall of fame, introduced the Grand Slam Track league with a total prize pool of approximately $12.6 million. Though after three meets, the league faced backlash due to financial concerns, and failed to pay several athletes, it left an impact on the track and field world. In his podcast episode, Justin Gatlin noted how the Diamond League dramatically increased the prize pool in just a year, seemingly in response to GST's offers. "I think that we don't want to overlook the fact of what Grand Slam has brought to the table also is you move the needle in the sport, like the money had to go up in the world athletics in those world challenges. "He added:"It had to go, and the Diamond League, they they came out they literally found money in less than a year. They was like, 'Oh, oh, we didn't know we had this in our back pocket. Oh, here you go, guys'. We moved the need a little bit, because they did see that Grand Slam and what Grand Slam brought to the table was truly a threat."Justin Gatlin also boasts two 60m titles from the World Indoor Championships and three podiums from the World Relays.