United States sprinter Gatlin was banned in 2006 after a positive test for testosterone.

Jamaican Bolt, the Olympic and world champion, told BBC Sport: “If he is there, I will run against him.”

Gatlin, a 100m gold medallist in Athens in 2004, has always insisted that he has never knowingly taken a performance-enhancing substance.

He regained his eligibility to compete in July and has won both of his comeback races.

Gatlin won the 100m and 200m sprint double at the 2005 World Championships to add to his 2004 Olympic 100m title but has been out of action since June 2006, although he still hopes to race at the 2012
Olympics in London against Bolt.

“This is my job and if anyone tries to dethrone me or tries to beat me then I’m definitely going to be stepping up to the plate and competing against them no matter who they are and what they’ve done,”
continued Bolt.

Bolt has ruled out competing for the rest of 2010 after suffering a back injury. It has been an injury-plagued season for the Jamaican.

The 23-year-old suffered his first 100m final defeat in two years when he was easily beaten by Tyson Gay on 6 August at Stockholm’s Diamond League meeting.

Bolt is the current world record holder, running 9.58 seconds at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, and believes he can go even faster.