{"id":1314907,"date":"2019-09-22T22:04:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T04:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game\/"},"modified":"2019-09-22T22:04:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T04:04:00","slug":"bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Bolt gone, doping back as the main topic in sprint game"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8751714677641\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-988049-651\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | FILE - In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman celebrates as he wins the men's 100-meter dash final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet, in Des Moines, Iowa. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/Charlie Neibergall, File)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"4.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"20\">\n<p><strong>FILE &#8211; In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman celebrates as he wins the men&#8217;s 100-meter dash final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet, in Des Moines, Iowa. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/Charlie Neibergall, File)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd.jpg\" alt=\"FILE - In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman celebrates as he wins the men's 100-meter dash final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet, in Des Moines, Iowa. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/Charlie Neibergall, File)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | FILE - In this June 30, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman, left, of the United States, wins the 100-meter race as he looks towards compatriot Justin Gatlin during the Prefontaine Classic athletics meet in Stanford, Calif. Now that Usain Bolt's gone, the top two contenders in the 100-meter final are expected to be Coleman and defending champion Justin Gatlin. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu, File)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"4\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"19\">\n<p><strong>FILE &#8211; In this June 30, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman, left, of the United States, wins the 100-meter race as he looks towards compatriot Justin Gatlin during the Prefontaine Classic athletics meet in Stanford, Calif. Now that Usain Bolt&#8217;s gone, the top two contenders in the 100-meter final are expected to be Coleman and defending champion Justin Gatlin. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu, File)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-1.jpg\" alt=\"FILE - In this June 30, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman, left, of the United States, wins the 100-meter race as he looks towards compatriot Justin Gatlin during the Prefontaine Classic athletics meet in Stanford, Calif. Now that Usain Bolt's gone, the top two contenders in the 100-meter final are expected to be Coleman and defending champion Justin Gatlin. (AP Photo\/Jeff Chiu, File)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | FILE - In this May 18, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman of the United States competes in the final of the men's 100-meter event during the Diamond League Track and Field meet in Shanghai, China. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/File)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"3.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"18\">\n<p><strong>FILE &#8211; In this May 18, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman of the United States competes in the final of the men&#8217;s 100-meter event during the Diamond League Track and Field meet in Shanghai, China. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/File)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/09\/Doping_Drama_Athletics_73943-6c9bd-2.jpg\" alt=\"FILE - In this May 18, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman of the United States competes in the final of the men's 100-meter event during the Diamond League Track and Field meet in Shanghai, China. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships because he had missed too many drug tests. He got a reprieve, but, as always, the specter of doping lingers over the sport\u2019s biggest event. (AP Photo\/File)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">DOHA, Qatar \u2014 Usain Bolt is in the rearview mirror, replaced by \u2014 what else? \u2014 an unfolding doping saga in track and field.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The title of \u201cWorld\u2019s Fastest Man\u201d now that Bolt is on the sideline belongs to American 100-meter sprinter Christian Coleman, who almost was banned from this month\u2019s world championships because he had missed too many drug tests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Coleman got a reprieve, but with the vacuum created by Bolt\u2019s departure, the Coleman case placed the specter of doping front and center again in the sprint game \u2014 same as it had been for decades before the Jamaican arrived and overtook the conversation with his sheer speed and buoyant personality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Coleman\u2019s case involved a pileup of complicated rules, confusing interpretations and twisted after-the-fact narratives that have allowed critics to cast both main players in this saga \u2014 Coleman and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency \u2014 into a negative light.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Coleman, who has never failed a drug test, nor ever been suspected of running afoul of the rules, will be running under a cloud of suspicion in the minds of some fans and media who tend to paint all U.S. sprinters with the same broad brush \u2014 as cheaters, a stereotype borne out of America\u2019s sordid doping past.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Coleman, meanwhile, is assailing USADA for being sloppy and putting him in the crosshairs because of the confusion over the rules.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a shame on USADA, the fact that this was public knowledge, the fact that they didn\u2019t know their own rules, and the fact they expect athletes to know the rules but they can\u2019t follow their own,\u201d Coleman said on a 22-minute video he posted on YouTube last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">At issue are the World Anti-Doping Agency\u2019s rules, which call for athletes to provide information on their whereabouts so doping-control officers can find them for out-of-competition tests with no advance notice. If an athlete has a combination of three missed tests over the span of 12 months \u2014 either because he isn\u2019t where he said he would be, because he gave the wrong information or because he didn\u2019t update the information \u2014 it can be considered an anti-doping violation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Athletes are responsible for submitting their whereabouts information quarterly, then updating it as necessary. In an interpretation of the rule that WADA applied to Coleman, his first missed test, on June 6, 2018, was backdated to the start of the quarter in which he missed the test \u2014 April 1 \u2014 which put it outside of the 12-month window between that failure and his latest one, on April 26, 2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was an interpretation of the rule that USADA did not initially anticipate, and one that will be eliminated when the WADA code is revised for 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And though USADA does not discuss ongoing cases in public, because this one got leaked to the media, and because Coleman subsequently commented on it, it freed up USADA to explain its side of the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIn this case, we applied the rules to Mr. Coleman in the manner that USADA understands should be applied to any other international-level athlete,\u201d USADA CEO Travis Tygart explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Most fans probably won\u2019t delve into the minutiae of this issue, but will see the words \u201cDoping\u201d and \u201cTrack\u201d in the headlines and think \u201cnothing new there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For the better part of 10 years, Bolt shifted that focus \u2014 even deflecting away inevitable questions about his own clean doping record with a smile, or by earnestly taking umbrage at the mere suggestion \u2014 and placed it squarely on the track, where his light all but blinded everyone from this sport\u2019s ever-growing laundry list of warts and imperfections (Remember, the Russian doping scandal began as a track and field issue, and barring an unexpected move by track\u2019s governing body this week, Russians will compete as neutral athletes with their track federation still under suspension).<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Now that Bolt is gone, the top two contenders in Saturday\u2019s 100-meter final are expected to be Coleman and defending champion Justin Gatlin, a 37-year-old who has been suspended twice for doping violations and whose victory at worlds in London in 2017 was greeted with skepticism from the media and boos from the stands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI know you have to have the black hat and the white hat, but guys, c\u2019mon,\u201d Gatlin said after his victory, in responding to the booing and the harsh questioning that accompanied the win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Can any sprinter \u2014 whether declared innocent, or insistent that he\u2019s changed his ways \u2014 get a clean start in a sport that demands exactly that?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maybe Coleman\u2019s trip to Doha, with less than a year to go before the 2020 Olympics, will offer some sort of answer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">More AP sports: <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/apf-sports\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/apnews.com\/apf-sports<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP%E2%80%94Sports\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP\u2014Sports<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sports\/bolt-gone-doping-back-as-the-main-topic-in-sprint-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FILE &#8211; In this July 26, 2019, file photo, Christian Coleman celebrates as he wins the men&#8217;s 100-meter dash final at the U.S. Championships athletics meet, in Des Moines, Iowa. The world\u2019s fastest man now that Usain Bolt is on the sideline is 100-meter runner Christian Coleman, who almost was forced to miss world championships [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1314907","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 20:45:36","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1314907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1314907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1314907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1314907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}