Sebastian Coe backs Coleman to win men’s 100m title in Doha amidst “missed tests” controversy
Christian Coleman of the United States reacts prior to the Men’s 100 metres heats during day one of 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 at Khalifa International Stadium on September 27, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Ge
DOHA, September 27, 2019 - Christian Coleman has been one of the major talking points of the ongoing IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha after running into trouble with the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) “whereabouts” system in the build up to the global event.
On the track Coleman is the fastest man in the world this year, but off it, he is being heavily criticized for missing three drug tests in the space of a year and avoiding suspension under the World Anti-Doping code.
Newly re-elected IAAF President Sebastian Coe has however come out to defend the US sprint star at a press conference after US legend Michael Johnson declared that Coleman cannot be the face of athletics.
On the opening day of Doha 2019, Coleman, who boasts a season best (SB) of 9.81 seconds in the men’s 100 metres, clocked the quickest time in the qualification rounds (9.98) over the same distance in Heat 6 of Round 1 to qualify for the semi-finals. In the absence of world record holder Usain Bolt, he remains a favourite for the men’s 100m crown.
Johnson had told BBC Sport that the controversy hovering around Coleman disqualifies him from filling Bolt’s shoes. “It completely disqualifies him, at this point, from ever being that face of the sport. This will follow him, as it should,” Johnson said. “I think this is an incredibly important issue around the sport because Christian Coleman was being touted 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.”
But Coe disagrees. He believes that a Coleman victory in the men’s 100m will be good for the sport. Coe insisted that anti-doping's whereabouts system were a key part of the war against doping.
“I want to be clear about it. There are number of issues we need to hold very firmly to," he said. "The whereabouts (system) is a very important part of the ecosystem. All athletes understand the seriousness of it. A missed test should set off alarm bells.”
WADA’s “whereabouts” system requires athletes to let officials know where they will be for one hour every day, as well as details of overnight accommodation and training venues. Failing to do so – known as “filling failures” three times over a 12-month period attracts punishment.
The US Anti-Doping Agency charged Coleman with “filing failures” before withdrawing the claim after receiving guidance on how the 12-month window used to determine the offence should be calculated.
Coleman missed the tests on June 6, 2018, January 16, 2019 and April 26, 2019. Based on international rules, the first of those offences should have been recorded on the first day of the quarter in question - April 1 2018 - meaning his three missed tests covered more than 12 months.
Coe has revealed that the rules are being reviewed. "We've spent the last two days reviewing the way we do this and it's important that this takes place, but we also have to be very protective of the reputation of the athletes," Coe said.
"So yes, it would be a good thing if Christian Coleman won the 100m. But as I said it will be a very competitive field."
Coleman recently told CNN: “I don't take drugs, I don't take anything illegal, and I just work hard and just let my God-given abilities speak for themselves."
On the track Coleman is the fastest man in the world this year, but off it, he is being heavily criticized for missing three drug tests in the space of a year and avoiding suspension under the World Anti-Doping code.
Newly re-elected IAAF President Sebastian Coe has however come out to defend the US sprint star at a press conference after US legend Michael Johnson declared that Coleman cannot be the face of athletics.
On the opening day of Doha 2019, Coleman, who boasts a season best (SB) of 9.81 seconds in the men’s 100 metres, clocked the quickest time in the qualification rounds (9.98) over the same distance in Heat 6 of Round 1 to qualify for the semi-finals. In the absence of world record holder Usain Bolt, he remains a favourite for the men’s 100m crown.
Johnson had told BBC Sport that the controversy hovering around Coleman disqualifies him from filling Bolt’s shoes. “It completely disqualifies him, at this point, from ever being that face of the sport. This will follow him, as it should,” Johnson said. “I think this is an incredibly important issue around the sport because Christian Coleman was being touted 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.”
But Coe disagrees. He believes that a Coleman victory in the men’s 100m will be good for the sport. Coe insisted that anti-doping's whereabouts system were a key part of the war against doping.
“I want to be clear about it. There are number of issues we need to hold very firmly to," he said. "The whereabouts (system) is a very important part of the ecosystem. All athletes understand the seriousness of it. A missed test should set off alarm bells.”
WADA’s “whereabouts” system requires athletes to let officials know where they will be for one hour every day, as well as details of overnight accommodation and training venues. Failing to do so – known as “filling failures” three times over a 12-month period attracts punishment.
The US Anti-Doping Agency charged Coleman with “filing failures” before withdrawing the claim after receiving guidance on how the 12-month window used to determine the offence should be calculated.
Coleman missed the tests on June 6, 2018, January 16, 2019 and April 26, 2019. Based on international rules, the first of those offences should have been recorded on the first day of the quarter in question - April 1 2018 - meaning his three missed tests covered more than 12 months.
Coe has revealed that the rules are being reviewed. "We've spent the last two days reviewing the way we do this and it's important that this takes place, but we also have to be very protective of the reputation of the athletes," Coe said.
"So yes, it would be a good thing if Christian Coleman won the 100m. But as I said it will be a very competitive field."
Coleman recently told CNN: “I don't take drugs, I don't take anything illegal, and I just work hard and just let my God-given abilities speak for themselves."
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