News Justin Gatlin has admitted he got “sucked into the hype” around last year’s world championship showdown with Usain Bolt and vowed not to make the same mistake at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games The US sprinter cruised to victory in an exhibition event in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (5 June) and then turned his attentions to how he can stop Bolt completing an unprecedented ‘triple-triple’ – retaining the 100m, 200m and 4x100m he won at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games – this August Gatlin seemed on course to defeat the Jamaican superstar at last year’s world championships in Beijing, having set the faster times all season while Bolt struggled to recover from injury However, in performances described as his best ever, Bolt beat Gatlin in the 100m and 200m “One lesson I learned, especially after Beijing last year, is to stay within myself,” said Gatlin “The excitement is for the fans and the media, but for me I just have to worry about executing my race in my lane I got sucked in too much last year, into the hype ” Gatlin waves to the crowds at Quinta da Boa Vista on Sunday (Photo: In Press/Thiago Diz) Gatlin, who at 34 will almost certainly be competing in his last Olympic Games this year, said he hoped he and Bolt would deliver a classic 100m final in Rio’s Olympic Stadium “We have the upmost respect for each other when it comes to competition and I just want to go out with a bang,” he said “I want it to be one of the most exciting races in track and field history I want fans around the world to stand still for nine seconds and watch the fastest race ever ” Under light rain at the Quinta da Boa Vista park in northern Rio on Sunday, Gatlin won the Mano a Mano event in 10 19 seconds His quickest time so far this year has been 9 93 seconds and he still needs to confirm his Olympic place in the US track and field trials in July, but Gatlin said he is planning to peak at the Olympic Games “I’m trying to go into this season differently to last,” he said “Last season I ran very fast, very early This season I want to be able to build up and run my fast races here in this country I think it’s going to be an exciting race, maybe in my last Olympics, and hopefully I will be able to go out with a bang ” Gatlin has twice been banned for doping offences and is often portrayed as the bad guy of his sport In the build-up to the Mano a Mano event he said he would not “dwell on what could have been” had he not been suspended He said he was “younger physically than my age for a sprinter due to the time away” and on Sunday he also described himself as “older and wiser” and better able to focus on his performance amid all the “glitz and the glamour of the Olympics” Watch Bolt v Gatlin at the 2015 world championships