The expected duel between the two sprinters made in USA worked to the advantage of Christian Coleman, to the detriment of Noah Lyles. The first showed his natural qualities to burst out of the starting blocks and win the world final of the 60 meters in front of his compatriot, Friday 1er March at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow (Scotland). Jamaican Ackeem Blake took the bronze medal.
Already an indoor title in 2018 and vice-champion in 2022, the athlete from Atlanta (Georgia) resisted the return of the king of sprinters, his compatriot Noah Lyles, six times outdoor world champion over 100 meters, 200 meters and 4 × 100 meters. He won in 6 s 41, the best performance of the season, ahead of his rival by three hundredths.
From the semi-finals, Coleman had issued a warning to his compatriot by winning his race in 6 s 43, while Lyles won his race in 6 s 47. Over 60 meters, the hierarchy was reversed. A true start specialist, the first has held the 60 meter world record since 2018 in 6 s 34.
“Only” triple outdoor world champion (once over 100 meters and twice thanks to the 4 × 100 meters), if we compare to Lyles’ better track record, Christian Coleman has taken his revenge on the one who beat during the last United States indoor championships, by a hundredth (6 s 44 against 6 s 43, in Albuquerque).
Coleman suspended in 2020
Endowed with relative charisma, the new indoor world champion does not fascinate the crowds. As always, Noah Lyles was popular with the public. In the past, Coleman has had numerous run-ins with anti-doping authorities. A first time when he was almost deprived of the 2019 Worlds due to three failures to meet localization obligations. His lawyers then found a legal loophole, noting that his “no shows” extended over a non-regulatory period.
After his double 100 meters and 4 × 100 meters in Qatar, this time he did not escape a two-year suspension for the same offense. Even if it is finally reduced to eighteen months after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Christian Coleman misses the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
In Paris, if the two men qualify by passing the formidable Trials (ruthless American Olympic selections), Coleman will be one of Lyles’ main rivals in the 100 meters. In Glasgow, the latter did not lose everything. Fifth sprinter in history to achieve a 100-200 meter double during the same edition of the Worlds in 2023 in Budapest, the Floridian adds a medal that was missing to his rich collection.
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