Coleman aiming for worlds despite drug-test claims
Christian Coleman, the fastest man in the world and favourite for the world 100metres title, has insisted he is confident of competing at next month’s World Championships despite fighting to avoid a ban for allegedly missing three drugs tests.
It emerged this week that the American sprinter is allegedly disputing one of three possible failures under the anti-doping “whereabouts” system.
United States Anti-Doping Agency rules dictate any three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period can result in a ban of up to two years. That could potentially rule Coleman out of both next month’s Doha World Championships and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
But, speaking for the first time since the news emerged, Coleman said he was confident of being cleared in time for the World Championships, which begin on Sept 28.
“I’m not a guy who takes any supplements at all, so I’m never concerned about taking drug tests, at any time,” said Coleman. “What has been widely reported concerning filing violations is simply not true. I am confident the forthcoming hearing on September 4 will clear the matter and I will compete at the World Championships.
“After the hearing, I will be free to answer questions about the matter, but for now I must respect the process.” Coleman claimed 100m silver ahead of Usain Bolt at the 2017 World Championships and has led the world rankings for each of the past three years.
Ojie Edoburun, who claimed a surprise 100m victory at the British Championships in Birmingham yesterday, suggested he had little sympathy for his American rival.
“Just handle your responsibilities because at the end of the day the athletes are liable,” he said. “I know that, so he should know that if he is the fastest man in the world.”
Edoburun won a bronze medal on his British Championships debut as a 19-year-old, but had failed to make the podium in three appearances before this weekend, with “mental demons” forcing him to question whether he would ever be good enough to cut it with the best. By beating Adam Gemili and Zharnel Hughes to a surprise gold in a time of 10.18 seconds – hampered by a huge -1.9 metres per second headwind – he had the answer.
“I burst into tears,” said Edoburun. “I have had so many setbacks. I call it mental injuries. People might think: ‘What is a mental injury?’ Not just in athletics but in life, too. When you have experienced an embarrassment or failure it sticks with you. So I have to come back and face these demons every year.
“I feel like I have always had the potential, but never really had a medal to show for it. Hopefully this is the beginning of things to come.”