The likelihood the world’s fastest man might miss the Olympics next summer increased Wednesday when Christian Coleman received a provisional suspension for failing to be home when drug testers showed up last year.
The 24-year-old Coleman, an Atlanta native who competed in college for the University of Tennessee, is the reigning world champion in the 100-meter dash.
The former Volunteers star said his latest flareup with the antidoping system stemmed from a miscommunication that could have easily been resolved with a phone call from the doping control officer who came to his house on Dec. 9. It was his third whereabouts infraction in a 12-month span and could carry a ban of up to two years.
His path to the starting line at the Tokyo Games may now be through a hearing room.
Coleman’s argument is being undercut, in part, by the fact he was well aware of the ins and outs of the “whereabouts rule” because of a case against him that was dropped last year – before this latest incident.