In kawasaki Gatlin's 10.02, a warning shot at Bolt

Justin Gatlin cruised to 10.02 seconds, running into a slight headwind, in Kawasaki, Japan, but is looking much further afield with a renewal of rivalries with one Usain St Leo Bolt on the horizon at this year.

The American sprinter, a double silver medallist at the World Championships in Beijing, China, won ahead of Japanese favourite, Ryota Yamagata, 10.21, and Barbados' Ramon Gittens, 10.26.

Gatlin, still recovering from a double defeat to Usain Bolt at the World Championships in Beijing, China, said after the race, he is preparing for this year's Olympics with Bolt in mind.

The speedster, who ran 28 races without a defeat before the World Championships last year, said being beaten by Bolt made him wiser.

“Usually you can come with a strategy that can combat the whole field,” said the 34-year-old athlete.

That, he says, isn't true when you are competing with a field that includes the double Olympic and World Champion.

“But when you go against someone like Usain, who is unique in stature and talent, you’ve got to come with a contingency plan, a plan B.”

Gatlin was speaking to overstriding in the final part of his race, a fact that allowed Bolt to sneak in ahead of him with the tape fast approaching.

“It has made me a smarter and wiser competitor to know when to stay within my technique, execute my race and just worry about myself,” said Gatlin.

The speedster is recovering from injury, having rolled his ankle in November.

According to him, there is still some swelling but he was not hampered by the injury during the race.

“I knew I was going to have a head wind when I practiced yesterday. Today I talked to my coach on the phone and he told me to have a good start. He knows that Japanese athletes have good starts, so just stay with them.

“I don’t want to start the season off so fast and run with such a high intensity so I came out here and just made sure I got the job done, execute my race and hopefully come away with the victory,” he said.

"... to be able to come out here and run this race, just smooth, I’m happy with that.”