Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/855205
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 JULY 2017 51 Sport ATHLETICS TENNIS SALES EXECUTIVES MediaToday is a media company involved in the publication of newspapers, magazines and TV programmes. These include MaltaToday, Illum, Gourmet Today, Xtra and Dwarna. Vacancies have arisen for sales executives. Experience in the sale of advertising space is an asset. Candidates for the job must be assertive, outgoing and in possession of a driving license. Only selected applicants will be summoned for an interview. Closing date: 04/08/2017 Please send your applications to: The Managing Editor MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016 Or email: info@mediatoday.com.mt Justin Gatlin says Usain Bolt could perform retirement u-turn USAIN Bolt could reconsider his decision to quit the sport, according to American sprint rival Justin Gatlin. Gatlin finished second behind Bolt in last year's Olympic 100 metres final and also at the past two World Championships with the Jamaican domi- nant. Bolt is due to bow out on the global stage in Au- gust's World Championships in London after the 100m - which he is 4/9 to win - and 4x100m relay, but Gatlin can see him finding the lure of competi- tion difficult to resist. Asked whether he might change his mind, Gat- lin, who is training with the United States squad in Birmingham, said: "Why not? He has that rock-star mentality where he can travel the world, have fun, party in different places and then say: 'I want to take this seriously one more time'. "He has the opportunity to come back, once he leaves he can have a year of rest and say: 'I love track so much I can't leave it too soon'. "For me it's a rare moment which you're not able to appreciate like I do. He's a true competitor, in my whole career I've never raced anyone who's such a true competitor and who's going toe-to-toe with me. "I love that, someone who's not going to falter or fall down or back away - he's going to rise to the oc- casion. That's what makes me the athlete I am today, it makes me want to rise to the occasion." Gatlin, twice banned for drug use, was beaten by Bolt in Beijing two years ago by just one hundredth of a second - losing his 28-run unbeaten record at the time. But with Bolt stepping down, Gatlin, who also fin- ished second behind the Jamaican in the 200m in Beijing, is excited at what it means. He said: "It makes you a little more jittery. Who's going to step up to fill that void, who's going to rise to the occasion and want to be the next superstar? "Now you're not worried about the 'Usain Bolt Show'. Now you're more concerned about the head- on competition, people rising to the occasion and saying: 'I will do it for me and my family now I have the opportunity to run from the front'." Justin Gatlin (l) and Usain Bolt Injured Djokovic will come back mentally stronger, says Cash TWELVETIMES grand slam champion Novak Djokovic's enforced in- jury break gives him enough time to redis- cover his intense playing style and will also make him mentally tougher on his return, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has said. The 30-year-old Serb said he will miss the rest of the tennis season, in- cluding next month's U.S. Open, to recover from a right elbow in- jury. "It will take time for him to get his intensity back," Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon singles champion, told the BBC. "Djokovic's style is very similar to almost everyone else on the circuit, but he was just that bit fitter, that bit more f lexi- ble, that bit more mentally tough. "It is probably just what the doctor ordered, to take time off. After so many unbelievable years, 2017 has been poor for him." Djokovic has struggled over the last 12 months on the court, los- ing all the grand slam titles he held simultaneously after win- ning the 2016 French Open. He also lost his world number one ranking to Andy Murray at the end of last year. Cash believes Djokovic should not be expected to return from his injury layoff as spectacularly as Roger Federer, who came back from a long-term knee issue ear- lier this year to lift Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. "It won't be like Roger Federer, who was winning Grand Slams straight out of the blocks after he came back, but some time next year he will be playing well again," Cash added. "He will be very sensible and make sure he is ready when he does come back." Novak Djokovic Pat Cash