Fresh off missed drug tests, Coleman wins 100 at worlds

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Christian Coleman won the world championship gold medal in the men’s 100 meters Saturday, three weeks after avoiding a ban for missed drug tests.

Coleman, 23, started well and extended his lead down the stretch to win in 9.76 seconds. Defending champion Justin Gatlin finished second in the marquee event of the championships, dominated by Usain Bolt until his loss to Gatlin in 2017. Andre de Grasse of Canada was third.

Coleman was the silver medalist behind the 37-year-old Gatlin in 2017. In Doha, they ran side-by-side, but Gatlin never really threatened.

Gatlin said he had reached out to support Coleman when the younger runner faced a potential ban.

In contrast to the boos that greeted Gatlin’s victory in London two years ago — a reference to his two previous suspensions for doping — the reception for Coleman was warm at the lightly attended event in the Qatari capital.

Many seats in the 40,000-capacity Khalifa International Stadium were covered with awnings and a number of spectators from African countries left after the earlier women’s 10,000 meters.

Earlier, DeAnna Price became the first U.S. woman ever to win a world championship throwing event with victory in the hammer. The two-time NCAA champion from Moscow Mills, Missouri, threw 77.54 meters, beating Poland’s Joanna Fiodorow and China’s Zheng Wang.

Less than five months after making her debut in the 10,000, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won the world title. She’d won medals at shorter distances before moving up this season.

Bolt’s fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake was just fifth in the 100, but the nation still ended the day with a gold medal as Tajay Gayle won the long jump. His jump of 8.69 meters gave the nation known for sprinters its first world title in a field event. Jeff Henderson of the U.S. was second and Cuba’s Juan Miguel Echevarria third.

The men’s and women’s 50-kilometer walks are later Friday.

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