Christian Coleman, delayed by ban, finally gets shot at Olympic medal

PARIS — Christian Coleman has known Olympic heartbreak. It’s why Friday, if Coleman medals in the 4x100 men’s relay in Stade de France at the 2024 Paris Games, it will be that much sweeter. 

It took him a long time to get here. 

Coleman, 28, has been one of the world’s top sprinters for the last seven years. The world record holder in the men’s indoor 60 meters, he owns six world championship medals, including gold (2019) and silver (2017) in the men’s 100. He was expected to be a strong medal contender at the Tokyo Games, originally scheduled for summer 2020. 

But in June 2020 Coleman got hit with a ban not because he failed a drug test but because he missed numerous tests. With the ban originally scheduled to last until May 2022, he appealed and got a reduced sentence. The ban would instead end in November 2021, meaning he would still miss Tokyo. 

At the U.S. track and field trials in Eugene, Ore., in June, Coleman was seeking redemption in the 100. Many thought he’d get it. Noah Lyles was the favorite and Fred Kerley was going to push Lyles, but Coleman was a strong contender to capture bronze and book his ticket to France. 

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But that didn’t happen, as Coleman finished fourth behind Lyles (9.83) Kenny Bednarek (9.87) and Kerley (9.88). Coleman ran a 9.93. A 100 specialist, he tried again in the 200. Again, he came in fourth, this time behind Lyles, Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton. 

“At the end of the day, this is a job, but you put so much work into it that it becomes part of your life,” Coleman told reporters after the 200 trials semifinals.

Asked about his disappointment with the 100 result, he said he’d “been through things in my life where I had to the tools to process it.” He was adamant that “I didn’t lose, I feel like I beat myself.” 

Track, he said, is unique because athletes spend years trying to peak for one specific meet or event. 

“In football, other sports, you get a next quarter, next possession, next year,” he said. “For us, it’s a lot different. But it’s part of the sport. You never plan for failure.”

At trials, Coleman said he hadn’t talked with relay coach Mike Marsh, but expected to be a contender for the relay pool given his history and traditionally strong start out of the blocks. On June 30, he got his wish, named to the team along with Lyles, Kerley, Kyree King, Courtney Lindsey and Bednarek. 

Coleman ran the first leg in prelims Thursday morning in Paris, turning in a 10.40 split as the Americans cruised through qualifying with a 37.47. He is likely to run the final along with Kerley, Lyles and Bednarek. (If the U.S. finishes in the top three, Coleman will receive a medal even if he doesn’t run in the final.) 

“With the speed we’ll put together, we should be on world record watch,” Coleman said at trials, referencing the 36.84 that Jamaica ran at the 2012 London Olympics. 

“I think everybody is on the same page in terms of the talent we have and being able to go over to Paris to do something special,” Coleman said, stressing that he was focused only on the future. 

“I know I have so much more to do,” he said.