Sprint glory’s shadow

OLYMPIC great Michael Johnson has got it right again. Christian Coleman can’t be the next Usain Bolt.

The athletics world has been waiting for an heir apparent since Bolt waved goodbye in 2017 after a period of dominance the sport had never seen before. While Coleman was Bolt- like in his domination of the world championships 100m final in Doha, he can’t be the face of athletics because of the drug controversy which surrounds him.

Last month the US AntiDoping Agency charged Coleman with missing three tests in 12 months before withdrawing the claim. The world indoor champion got off on a technicality which allowed him to backdate his first whereabouts failure before the 12-month window.

The 23-year-old declared it a misunderstanding but the scandal certainly overshadowed the lead-up and in victory the stigma will remain.

“It completely disqualifies him, at this point, from ever being that face of the sport. This will follow him, as it should,” Johnson told the BBC.

“I think this is an incredibly important issue around the sport because Christian Coleman was being t outed to replace Usain Bolt as the big star of the sport.

“I don’t think that will happen now as a result of this. I think that fans of athletics don’t have any tolerance at this point for any sort of doping infraction.”

Coleman, who blitzed the field producing the sixth fastest time in history, 9.76sec, to win his first world title, continued to claim his innocence afterwards.

“It’s sad when people say the things they say when they don’t really know me,” he said.

“I have proved myself over the years to be a guy who does everything the right way.

“All I can do is focus on myself and my family.

“I came out with medal, I’m blessed.” a gold