The 'king' of the 100m dash should not go to Tokyo to seek the Olympic crown next year, as Christian Coleman, the reigning world champion in the distance, has been suspended for two years for failing to comply with his anti-doping protocol location obligations.
After escaping a first sanction in 2019 and being provisionally suspended in May, 24-year-old Coleman, this time could not escape the punishment imposed on Tuesday by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), the organization created in 2017 by the international federation to fight against doping.
Although the athlete has 30 days to appeal this decision, if confirmed, Coleman could not return to the track until May 13, 2022, which would prevent him from attending the Tokyo Games, postponed by the new coronavirus pandemic to the boreal summer of 2021 (July 23 to August 8), and to the World Championships that will be held in Eugene (United States) in 2022 (from July 15 to 24).
High-level athletes have to scrupulously communicate their location and notify a time slot and a place every day so they can undergo surprise anti-doping controls.
Successor to Bolt
In 2019, Coleman avoided suspension for three violations after the US Doping Agency admitted the athlete's appeal, successfully arguing that the first violation should have been dated on the first day of the corresponding quarter (April 1, 2018), which placed the three violations in a longer period than the established 12 months.
That allowed Coleman to participate in the Doha World Championships in 2019, where he won two golds in the 100m dash (with a time of 9.76s) and in the 4x100 relay, becoming the new king of speed, taking over from Jamaican legend Usain Bolt, who retired in 2017, the same year the American already won two world silvers in those same events.
He also holds the world record for the 60m indoors with a time of 6.34s.
The announcement of Coleman's suspension comes just one week after the AIU absolved Bahraini Salwa Eid Naser, the current world champion in the 400 meters, provisionally suspended since June for the same reason.
Three violations in 12 months
According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations, any combination of three violations of these rules, whether for not passing a test or for not submitting the documents on time or for incomplete information, within a 12-month period, is considered a doping offense that can be punished with a suspension of up to two years.
According to the AIU, Coleman missed a control on January 16, 2019 that the athlete did not appeal.
On April 26, Coleman reported being in Lexington (Kentucky), when he was actually in Iowa participating in the Drake Relays competition.
Contacted by his controller, Coleman tried to modify that information in the computer system, but the AIU reminded him that changes should be made "as soon as possible" and the athlete was already two days in Iowa.
Coleman also tried to justify his third violation, on December 9, 2019. That day, two controllers showed up at his apartment door between 19:15 and 20:15, but the athlete was shopping at a nearby mall.
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The American explained that at 20:10 he was at his home to watch the start of a football game on TV, before leaving again.
His purchase records show that he made payments at 19:13, 19:53, and at Walmart at 20:22, so the court considers it impossible for Coleman to have returned to his apartment, even briefly.
Coleman and his defense then argued that the controllers did not try to call him, an act "that is not mandatory," the court recalled on Tuesday.
Coleman is the third American world champion in the 100m dash to be suspended for doping, after Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin. (D)