World Athletics Championships: Christian Coleman looking most likely to assume Usain Bolt mantle
It’s been two years since the great Usain Bolt ran off into the sunset after a glorious career and while challengers both old and new have emerged, the mantle of sprint king has yet to be claimed.
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Finding a replacement for Usain Bolt was never going to be easy for the track and field world, and even before the official handover in Doha major questions are being asked.
Bolt won 11 world championships gold medals throughout his extraordinary dominance of the sport and since his retirement following the 2017 world titles in London, the focus has been on finding his successor.
American Christian Coleman is at the front of the pack but the spectre of drugs is already surrounding him.
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Coleman, 23, has produced the fastest 100m times over the past three years, is the world record holder over 60m indoors and has the world-leading time this season of 9.81 sec.
He even beat Bolt home in his final race in London, finishing second behind drug cheat Justin Gatlin who stunned the world by stealing the show in the world record holder’s farewell event.
But Coleman is only running in Doha because of a technicality.
Last month it was revealed he was in danger of missing the world championships for three whereabouts failures - essentially, missing three drug tests - in a 12-month span which automatically triggers a two-year ban.
However, due to a technicality Coleman was allowed to backdate his first failure before the 12-month window and was cleared.
He has denied any wrongdoing but the explanation has hardly instilled confidence.
“Sometimes, you forget to update the app and it just is what it is,” Coleman said.
“But it has nothing to do with doping. It has nothing to do with trying to dodge tests.”
Gatlin, who was banned for four years for using testosterone, is back again to defend his world title at the age of 37. In June he ran 9.87 sec, the fourth-fastest time of 2019.
Australia’s Rohan Browning has watched with interest the recent developments around his event.
“He (Coleman) is arguably the best in the world at the moment when you’re looking at performances and I think that if the system is transparent and the rules are applied fairly and evenly across-the-board then no-one has anything to complain about,” Browning said.
Browning, 21, is excited about the changing of the guard in the event after Bolt’s Jamaica and the USA dominated it for so many years.
“A lot of doors are opening in the 100m at the moment, it has become a much more global sport,” he said.
“You look now and there are some athletes from all over the world who are doing well.
“It’s no longer just the days of two powerhouses, Jamaica and the USA running rampant. It really is anybody’s game.”
Browning has rode an injury rollercoaster to get to Doha having not worn spikes for nine months after last year’s Commonwealth Games, with one of his rare appearances on the track a career best 10.08 sec in Brisbane back in March.
He is Australia’s only representative in the sprints - both men and women - with the heats of the 100m the highlight of the opening day of the championships.
“It has been an interesting year, I would say I’ve had a shocker of a season with a pretty good glittering redeeming moment being that running 10.08 sec and qualifying for this,” he said.
“But really now the sky is the limit, I don’t want to put a limit on myself. I think if I can execute a really good race then it is well within my capacity to run faster than I ever have before.”
Originally published as World Athletics Championships: Christian Coleman looking most likely to assume Usain Bolt mantle