America's Coleman poised to 'attack' sprint double

SHANGHAI: Christian Coleman warned on Friday that he was primed to "attack" a season that the American sprinter hopes will end in him becoming 100m and 200m world champion.

The joint-seventh fastest man in history begins his Diamond League campaign in Shanghai on Saturday ahead of what promises to be a career-defining 14 months.

The world championships take place in Doha in September-October and the Tokyo Olympics are next summer.

With Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt retiring in 2017, men's sprinting has a void and the 23-year-old Coleman has been touted as a possible successor.

Like Bolt, Coleman,-- the world 100m silver medallist -- would dearly like to reign in the 100m and 200m.

"I was supposed to run both last year but ended up getting injured and decided just to focus on the 100m," he said in Shanghai.

"Coming into this year it was always the plan to try to attack both of them and try to make the (US) team in both and go for the gold medal in both of them, so we will see."

Coleman and Michael Norman, 21, have risen to the top of the highly competitive world of US sprinting on the back of impressive 2018s.

Their US team-mate Noah Lyles, himself just 21, is another of the new generation.

Lyles and Coleman will go head-to-head in Shanghai over what promises to be a mouthwatering 100m.

Coleman last year set a world-record 6.34sec over 60 metres indoors and won the world indoor title.

But a hamstring injury struck the sprinter, who took world outdoor 100m silver in London in 2017 behind Justin Gatlin, but ahead of Bolt. - AFP