American sprinter Coleman suspended for missing doping tests

DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP):

American sprinter Christian Coleman was suspended Wednesday by the Athletics Integrity Unit for missing doping tests.

The AIU updated its list of athletes on provisional suspension to include the 100m world champion hours after he revealed details of the case.

Coleman has been temporarily banned from competition until a final decision at a hearing conducted under World Athletics Anti-Doping rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct.

Coleman had a previous whereabouts charge dropped last year ahead of the World Championships and was a favourite for Olympic gold in the 100m ahead of the Tokyo Games. Those games have been postponed to next year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coleman wrote on Twitter that drug testers were unable to find him Dec. 9 while he was shopping at a nearby mall for Christmas presents. That was his third infraction in a 12-month period.

Coleman asked why he didn't receive a phone call when the testers were unable to find him, saying he had received calls "every other time" he was tested.

"I think the attempt on December 9th was a purposeful attempt to get me to miss a test," he wrote.

The AIU said a phone call wasn't a requirement and that it usually asks employees not to call athletes because that could undermine the testing programme.

The AIU added that under World Anti-Doping Agency rules "proof that a telephone call was made is not a requisite element of a missed test and the lack of any telephone call does not give the athlete a defense to the assertion of a missed test."

Some of Coleman's earlier missed tests were not with the AIU but with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, whose own handbook for athletes says phone calls are usually reserved only for the last five minutes of a time slot and "to confirm the unavailability of the athlete, not to locate an athlete for testing."

Athletes are required to list their whereabouts for an hour each day when they must be available to be tested. A violation means an athlete either did not fill out forms telling authorities where they could be found, or that they weren't where they said they would be when testers arrived.