After an appeal, world champion sprinter Christian Coleman will have his competitive ban that came as a result of missed drug tests reduced from two years to 18 months. However, the decision will still cause him to miss the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
The American runner was set to be the favorite in the 100-meter race prior to his suspension.
"While I appreciate that the arbitrators correctly found that I am a clean athlete, I am obviously disappointed that I will miss the Olympic Games this summer," Coleman said in a statement, per NBC Sports. "I look forward to representing the United States at both World Championships in 2022 [indoors and outdoors], especially the first ever World Championships held in the United States next summer where I plan to defend my world title against a new Olympic champion in the 100 meters."
Officially, Coleman was hit with a "whereabouts failure" penalty that comes as a result of missing drug tests. His last missed drug test was the third strike that led to this ban, and a panel determined he had lied to testers about his location on the day it was supposed to take place.
However, the sprinter asserted that the drug tester did not call him while trying to find him, which garnered him sympathy from the Court Arbitration for Sport in his appeal. The calls aren't required, but they became a part of the process whenever Coleman was tested.
The 25-year-old world champion is slated to be the successor to Usain Bolt as the World's Fastest Man. He has set records in the 100m in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and won a world title in the track event at the world championships in Dota in 2019.
