The 100m world champion, who missed three tests in a 12-month period, has 30 days to appeal against the ban
For two related reasons. The 24-year-old
American was the world’s fastest man – a title that still has a considerable cache despite track and field’s slow retreat from the mainstream. When Coleman won the 100m world championships in Doha last year in 9.76sec it was the sixth-fastest time in history and reinforced him as the massive favourite to win Olympic gold in Tokyo. That the Athletics Integrity Unit, which handles doping tests and investigations, has been able to prosecute one of the biggest names in the sport shows it has real teeth.