Christian Coleman has been cleared to run at the World Championships this month after escaping a doping sanction on technicality.
The American, who is the heavy favourite to win the 100m in Doha, had faced a potential suspension after three missed tests in a 12-month period, as revealed by Sportsmail.
However, with a hearing initially set for September 4 to examine his ‘whereabouts’, breaches on June 6, 2018, January 16, 2019 and April 26, 2019, the US Anti-Doping Agency has now withdrawn the charges after consultation with WADA.
Citing WADA rules, a USADA statement on Monday night pointed to a regulation that says a filing failure is back-dated to the start of the relevant quarter, meaning Coleman’s first whereabouts breach is now listed as April 1, 2018, and therefore leaves him on two strikes instead of three for the 12-month period. The IAAF has the right to appeal.
‘Consistent application of the global anti-doping rules is essential in every case,’ USADA CEO Travis Tygart said.
‘In this case, we applied the rules to Mr Coleman in the manner that USADA understands should be applied to any other international-level athlete.
‘We must approach every case with the primary goal of delivering fairness to athletes under the rules and providing transparency and consistency in order to build their trust and support for the anti-doping system.’ –BBC
