Christian Coleman to Race 200 Meters at Ostrava Golden Spike

By Adam Kopet

Christian Coleman has not raced the 200 meters since he finished second at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships. That will change Thursday when he competes over 200 meters at the Ostrava Golden Spike.

ENTRIES

Coleman has a best of 19.85, which he ran at the 2017 NCAA Divisions 1 East Preliminary. He had been announced several times to compete over 200 meters in 2018, but a hamstring injury derailed those plans. He still managed to return to action by the end of the season to win the Diamond League final in the 100 meters, running a world-leading and personal-best 9.79.

Canada's Andre De Grasse and South Africa's Clarence Munyai are also set to compete Thursday and both have faster personal bests than Coleman.

De Grasse has a personal best of 19.80 and earned the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 2016 Olympics. Munyai was second on the 2018 200-meter list with a 19.69 clocking.

Despite having a slower personal best than some of his competition does not change the fact Coleman remains a strong favorite. He has already run 9.85 and 9.86 this year, showing good form.

It should also be noted that De Grasse is scheduled to race both the 100 and 200 meters in Ostrava. When De Grasse gets in the blocks for the 200 meters, he will already have a race in his legs.

Earlier this season Coleman confirmed his intention to double in the 100 and 200 meters at next month's USATF Outdoor Championships, hopefully qualifying for both events for the IAAF World Outdoor Championships. He successfully performed the double in 2017, qualifying in both events. However, after a long NCAA season, Coleman elected to just compete in the 100 meters and 4x100 relay at the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships. He captured silver in the 100 meters, beating Usain Bolt in his last individual race.