Report: Coleman In Hot Water With Anti-Doping Officials

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

U.S. sprinter Christian Coleman could face a two-year doping ban that would theoretically force him out of this year's World Championships, the 2020 Olympic Games and the 2021 World Championships. 

According to a report in the Daily Mail, a U.K. newspaper, Coleman failed three times in the past year to let drug testers know his whereabouts. 

All top track athletes are required to provide information about their location so that they can be subjected to out-of-competition random testing. Invasive though it may seem to the public, it's standard operating procedure for athletes of Coleman's caliber. 

Missing three tests, although it does not equate to a positive doping result (four-year ban), is not a good look. The newspaper report claims that Coleman is contesting one of the missed days. 

Coleman's career, likely, hangs in the balance. A missed chance to compete at the 2020 Olympics, where he would be a gold-medal favorite in the 100 meters, would be devastating.  

Coleman, 23, is No. 8 on the all-time world list in the 100 meters with 9.79 seconds. 

Brianna McNeal, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the women's 100-meter hurdles for the U.S., faced a similar situation after failing to update her whereabouts on three occasions in 2016. She served a one-year suspension and missed the 2017 IAAF World Championships.