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Jamaica names Williams in Doha team despite positive dope test

September 12, 2019
In this file photo taken on June 20, 2019 Christian Coleman of the USA finishes 2nd in the 200m Men sprint of IAAF Golden Spike 2019 Athletics meeting in Ostrava. Coleman hit back at criticism of his three missed doping tests on Wednesday insisting he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs and never would. — AFP
In this file photo taken on June 20, 2019 Christian Coleman of the USA finishes 2nd in the 200m Men sprint of IAAF Golden Spike 2019 Athletics meeting in Ostrava. Coleman hit back at criticism of his three missed doping tests on Wednesday insisting he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs and never would. — AFP

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Briana Williams was named in Jamaica's team for the world athletics championships in Doha on Wednesday despite facing a hearing into a positive doping test.

The inclusion of the world under-20 double sprint champion in Jamaica's 55-member squad is contingent on the outcome of her disciplinary hearing, which is set for Sept. 23-25 in Kingston.

"We have entered Briana Williams in the 100m and the 4x100 relay, subject of course to clearance," Lincoln Eatmon, the second vice president of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), told a news conference in Kingston.

"Jonielle Smith is the reserve for the 100m and is a part of the 4x100 relay pool," he added.

Double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson and three-times 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who are both set to contest the 100m, 200m and sprint relay, headline Jamaica's team for the global championships, which get under way on Sept. 27

With Danielle Williams winning the 100m hurdles Diamond Trophy to secure a wildcard entry to the world championships, the JAAA has named four athletes to contest the sprint hurdles, with Janeek Brown, Megan Tapper and Yanique Thompson completing the lineup.

Akeem Bloomfield, who only contested the 200m at the Jamaican trials in June but finished third in the 400m final at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Brussels in a time of 44.67 seconds, will contest one-lap event in Doha.

Diamond League finalist Nathon Allen, who also missed the trials due to illness, has been named as a reserve for the 400m.

Yohan Blake, 100m world Champion in 2011, and Omar Mcleod, the defending sprint hurdles champion, headline the men's team, which also includes Commonwealth discus champion Fedrick Dacres.

Coleman wants apology from

USADA over whereabouts charge


Christian Coleman wants an apology from the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) now that the body has dropped a whereabouts charge against him, the American sprinter said on Wednesday.

In a lengthy video posted on YouTube ahead of the world championships in Doha, Coleman said the charge had damaged his reputation as a clean athlete and he had foregone over $150,000 in potential earnings to fight it.

"I can afford a lawyer and have the best people defending me but a lot of people don't make a lot of money and if you're a lower name you might get run over by USADA," he said.

"I feel you can't put a price on the fact I have to deal with this situation ... and the smear of my reputation."

The case had been scheduled to go to arbitration but USADA withdrew the charge after receiving guidance from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on how to calculate the 12-month window for whereabouts breaches.

Coleman said he had forfeited over $150,000 by missing part of the European circuit to stay home and fight the charge.

"My plan was to run in these two meets and then go to world championships but I had to all of a sudden, at the drop of a dime, switch up my schedule," he said.

Coleman, 23, claimed the silver medal in the 100 meters at the 2017 world titles in London, relegating Usain Bolt to third in the Jamaican's final solo race. Coleman explained why he had racked up three whereabouts violations, each the result of different situations.

"People don't realize how easy it is to miss tests," he said. "Sometimes you forget to update the app, but it has nothing to do with doping or trying to dodge tests.

"A lot of people have a misunderstanding of how the system works. I'm tested 30-40 times a year. It's a crazy amount of times. I'm a human being. I forget sometimes." — Reuters


September 12, 2019
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