U.S. 100-metre runner Christian Coleman has been cleared of doping charges. The athlete will be able to return to competing. A small chance exists that WADA may pursue further action against him.
Christian Coleman Cleared of Doping Charges
In athletics, doping accusations must never be thrown lightly. Just ask Christian Coleman who got the go-ahead from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after the watchdog withdrew investigation against the athlete over suspected use of performance-enhancement substances.
Coleman is a star and he already holds the 100-metre record worldwide and has consolidated his titles over the past three years. Responding to comments, Mr. Coleman explained that he was happy with the outcome.
However, he didn’t fail to point out the harm that the investigation had done, specifically:
“While this ordeal has been frustrating and I have missed some competitions that I should not have had to miss, I know that I have never taken any banned substances, and that I have never violated any anti-doping rule.”
Mr. Coleman failed the so-called ‘whereabouts tests,’ which basically meant that a representative of the Anti-Doping agency could come over and ask for a sample. On three specific attempts over a 12-month period was Mr. Coleman present.
A Technicality That Saves Careers
Looking into Mr. Coleman’s case, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) backdated his first failure to comply on August 1, 2018 and then, his final failure was on April 26, 2019, which meant that Mr. Coleman hadn’t actually failed three tests within a 12-month period.
Commenting on the case, USADA CEO Travis Tygart explained that his agency had handled the case with the utmost care, as was exemplified by his stance on the Russian mass-substance abuse. Mr. Coleman had been held to the same standards as any other international athlete. Here is what he said specifically:
“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.”
All things considered, Mr. Coleman has dodged a very close bullet. He could have faced a total of four years ban from athletics, which in most cases ruins careers. Meanwhile, to remove any confusion from the code, WADA will re-write the rules on compliance with whereabouts tests and introduce them in 2021.
WADA may still choose and pursue legal action against Mr. Coleman for failing to appear on the three instances cited by USADA, but this is not a very likely scenario. Mr. Coleman has kept his composure during the entire investigation and he stated, even when accusations were first levied, that he felt to be cleared.
While the sports community has welcomed the news well, some have suggested that Mr. Coleman should have been more careful about his whereabouts. Whether this is true is difficult to say, as USADA confirmed that he had been successfully tested on 20 occasions between 2018 and 2019.
