Untimely shopping: world champion in 100 meters suspended for two years for missing doping tests

The independent body against negative phenomena in athletics (AIU) has decided to disqualify American sprinter Christian Coleman for two years.

He was found guilty of violating the rules regarding the availability of an athlete for anti-doping testing.

The punishment followed for missing three out-of-competition checks within 12 calendar months.

The AIU has examined the circumstances due to which Coleman was unable to get tested on April 26 and December 9, 2019, when doping officers came to him.

Another test was supposed to take place on January 16, but the athlete did not dispute his guilt in his pass.

Special attention at the hearings was paid to the events of December 9 last year.

On that day, Coleman said he was shopping for Christmas at the exact time he indicated for possible testing.

The 60m world record holder was close to his home and could quickly return if he knew that they wanted to test him for doping.

He complained that the doping officers did not try to call him when they realized that he was not at home.

In his social networks, Coleman criticized the work of AIU, saying that they tried to set him up so that he was credited with the third missed test in a year.

At the hearing, Coleman clarified what exactly happened on December 9.

He provided receipts confirming that he made his first purchase at 7:13 pm, then purchased food in a cafe at 7:53 pm and again bought several items in the supermarket at 8:22 pm.

At the same time, Coleman indicated in the ADAMS system that he would be available for testing from 19:15 to 20:15.

The athlete claimed that after buying food, he came home, had dinner, watched a little football match, and again left for the store.

Coleman assured that he was at home from approximately 20:00 to 20:10.

However, the AIU did not accept the athlete's testimony, doubting their veracity.

The arbitrators decided that Coleman could not get home from the cafe for 29 minutes, park the car, eat the brought food and then go to the store and purchase 16 items.

The football match, which Coleman allegedly watched, started at 20:15, which also contradicted his testimony.

At the same time, it was established that two doping officers were constantly at the door of Coleman's apartment from 19:15 to 20:15 (the evidence was confirmed by a photograph taken at 20:21).

They rang and knocked on the door every ten minutes, but received no answer.

The AIU's decision noted that no light came on in Coleman's house for an hour, which would have been noticeable, since it was already dark outside.

All this gave reason to believe that the athlete was absent from home until the time when he returned from the purchase at 20:22.

AIU also sorted out Coleman's claims that no one had tried to reach him.

The instructions for doping officers contain a clause that within the last five minutes they can call the athlete, but it is specifically stipulated that they are not required to do so.

AIU Out-of-Competition Testing Manager Rafael Roux confirmed that he instructed his reviewers not to call Coleman for several reasons.

First, in the recent past, the sprinter missed four tests, which in itself was suspicious.

Secondly, in the relatively recent past, he showed decent results precisely in those periods when he could not meet with doping control officers.

And thirdly, Roux got the impression that the athlete could have been warned before taking samples during previous tests.

As for the events of April 26, 2019, it was found that Coleman had entered incorrect data on his whereabouts.

He was not in Lexington, as indicated in ADAMS, but was competing in Des Moines.

Having learned by phone that doping officers had come to him, Coleman nevertheless entered the correct information.

However, the AIU indicated that according to the rules, the athlete must make changes as soon as he realizes that the data already entered is not up to date.

The athlete had been competing in Des Moines since April 24, so the AIU considered Coleman's actions a violation.

At the same time, the Independent Body to Combat Negative Events in Athletics made it clear that he did not suspect Coleman of using illegal drugs.

However, the actions of the athlete and his attitude to testing were harshly criticized, as he had previously had problems with anti-doping authorities.

“Although the athlete barely managed to avoid disqualification and it was known that he still had a two-time violation of the rules of informing (about his whereabouts for doping testing.

), and also despite the fact that by December 9, the athlete, according to him at the hearings, he realized that he had already attracted the increased attention of the supervisory authority, in the appointed hour period he still went shopping.

We regret to inform you that, in our opinion, there are no extenuating circumstances to shorten the two-year period of ineligibility.

Unfortunately, in this case, the athlete's behavior seems to us at best irresponsible and at worst reckless.

In this regard, we are suspending him from the competition for two years, ”the verdict says.

AIU recalled last year's scandal, when Coleman was already accused of missing three doping tests shortly before the World Championships in Doha.

However, then the date of one of the passes was credited to him so that the violations occurred over a period exceeding 12 months.

Coleman was able to return to the sport and win two gold medals in the Qatar competition.

The athlete's disqualification will only end on May 13, 2022, unless he appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and seeks to change the AIU's decision.

Coleman will have to skip the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he would have been the main contender for the gold medal in the 100m.

Coleman's agent Emmanuel Hudson said his client would definitely try to challenge the AIU's decision.

Until then, the athlete will not give comments on events that may well put an end to his successful career.