World 100m champion Coleman banned for 2 years

NEW YORK: World 100 metres champion Christian Coleman will miss next year's Tokyo Olympics after being banned for two years for breaching whereabouts rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Tuesday.

Coleman, who narrowly escaped a ban last year for missing three doping tests, was provisionally suspended by the AIU in June.

"We regret to say that we do not think there is any mitigation which can fairly be relied upon to reduce the sanction from the two-year period," the AIU said in a statement on its website.

"Unfortunately, we see this case as involving behaviour by the athlete as very careless at best and reckless at worst."

The American sprinter claimed at the time of his provisional suspension that anti-doping officials had not followed procedure when he missed them after going Christmas shopping on December 9, 2019 at a time when he had said he would be at home.

Doping control officers testified before a disciplinary tribunal that they were present during the whole of the allotted hour of 7:15 pm to 8:15 pm on December 9 in front of his house.

Coleman in turn testified he had arrived home from Christmas shopping shortly before the end of the one-hour period.

However, shopping receipts showed that Coleman had purchased 16 items from a Walmart Supercenter at 8:22 pm, the AIU said.

"We do not accept the Athlete's evidence," the AIU added. "It is obvious that in fact the athlete did not go home until after making his 8:22 pm purchase. We are comfortably satisfied that this is what happened."

At the time of his provisional suspension, Coleman had complained that the AIU's doping control officers had not called him on that night on December 9.

The AIU said in its judgement that doping control officers were not required to phone athletes.

The AIU said Coleman's ban would end on May 13, 2022 and that he could appeal the tribunal's decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (Agencies)

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