Olympics

During the 2004 season, VCB won the Indoor 200m title and was a four-time All-American after transferring from Barton Community College. However, according to Harter despite her short time at the school, the now five-time Olympian had a lasting impact on their athletic programme.

"Veronica probably single-handedly put us on the map as far as becoming a program for sprinters," said Harter.

"I think we were stereotyped as a program that was heavy in the distances and the field events. Veronica immediately brought us legitimacy and world stature in the sprints."

Since those days in 2004, her legacy and her image have influenced some of the world’s best athletes to attend including fellow Olympian and Jamaicans Omar McLeod and Janeek Brown, who have both excelled there.

"There's a very large picture of Veronica on our office wall when you walk down the hallway, and she's holding a bunch of Olympic medals. It's obviously there to impress recruits so they know Veronica came to school here. That's a lot of credibility and notoriety for our program," said Harter, who has been with the programme for the past three decades.

Campbell-Brown, who will be hoping to compete at her sixth Olympic Games this summer, was on March 13, inducted into the 2020 Class of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame at the Statehouse Convention Centre in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Croatian dominated proceedings from start to finish on Court Philippe Chatrier, comfortably triumphing 6-2 6-0 in just over an hour. 

Vekic and Schmiedlova traded blows in the opening exchanges, but it would be the world number 21 who found the decisive break to go 3-2 up in the fifth game. 

From then on, the Croatian was able to hold her serve to claim the first set, but the best was still to come. 

Vekic would drop just five points in the entirety of the second set, storming to victory in a contest where she converted all four of her break points. 

Data Debrief: Vekic one match away from creating history

Vekic will be the first Croatian player in tennis history to secure a gold or silver medal at the Olympics in singles when she faces Zheng on Saturday. 

In a dominant display, Vekic won seven games in a row compared to Schmiedlova's one, winning 24 of her 32 first serve points. 

Heathcote and Grube will compete in the 470 class, which is making its debut as a mixed event having recently been the domain of three-time Olympic medallist Hannah Mills.

Mills teamed up with Saskia Clark to win silver and gold in the women’s category in 2012 and 2016 respectively before joining Eilidh McIntyre to retain her Olympic crown in 2020.

Heathcote, who will be the youngest sailor in the British team at the age of 22, said: “It gives me goosebumps knowing that I’m going to be a part of the biggest sporting spectacle on earth.

“The Olympics has always been the goal and the thing I project my inspiration and motivation towards, so selection is a box ticked on the way there.”

Grube, 39, will make his third appearance at the Games having previously competed in both 2016 and 2020 alongside Luke Patience.

Aside from Mills’ trio of successes, Team GB have also won four silver medals in the now-defunct men’s category since the 470 class was introduced to the Olympics in 1988.

Team GB chef de mission Mark England said: “Following their fantastic silver at the recent World Championships I am delighted to welcome Vita Heathcote and Chris Grube to Team GB for Paris 2024.”

The selection of Heathcote and Grube takes the size of the British sailing team for Paris to 13, with the inaugural men’s kite category still to be added.

The former Wimbledon champion, whose title defence was ended by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round earlier this month, was a silver medallist in Tokyo three years ago, losing out on gold to Belinda Bencic.

The Czech was aiming to go the extra step this time around at Roland-Garros, where she reached the French Open final in 2019.

However, Vondrousova has instead chosen to focus on preparing for the final major of 2024 at the US Open in August.

"I am very sorry, but due to health reasons, I will not be participating in this year's Olympic Games in Paris," she posted on Instagram.

"I hoped until the last moment that I could go at least in doubles, but problems with my hand won't allow me on the court."

Vondrousova joins Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur and Emma Raducanu on the absentee list for the women's tournament, while the men's event will not feature world number seven Hubert Hurkacz.

The Pole, who was forced to retire with a knee injury during his second-round match at Wimbledon, has failed to recover in time.

Meanwhile, Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, ranked seventh in the world, has also withdrawn from the men's competition.

The 27-year-old has not recovered from a knee injury which forced him to retire from his second-round match at Wimbledon.

"My rehabilitation is going very well, and I am making continuous progress," he said in a video posted on his Instagram Stories. "However, my team and I have decided that I am unable to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris.

"This was a very, very difficult decision because I have always dreamed of representing Poland at the Olympics, being able to win a medal for the national team, but unfortunately, my health does not allow it this year."

USA Basketball announced the appointment on Monday, with Kerr replacing San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich at the helm. Kerr had been Popovich's assistant on the national team since 2017.

Popovich – a five-time NBA champion with the Spurs – led the US to glory at this year's Tokyo Games, their fourth consecutive Olympic gold.

The team will have a similarly impressive staff moving forward, with Kerr in charge having won the NBA title five times as a player and on three occasions as coach of the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors stood 24-6 for this year ahead of a Monday night game with the Sacramento Kings, as they make another run at the championship. They have improved Kerr's career win percentage to 69.3 – the third-best mark in NBA history. Among coaches with three wins or more, Popovich (66.3 per cent) ranks eighth.

Kerr will be supported by Gonzaga coach Mark Few, the Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra and the Phoenix Suns' Monty Williams.

"I'm incredibly honoured and humbled to represent our country as the head coach for the USA Basketball men's national team," Kerr said in a statement. "It's a thrilling opportunity and I'm excited for the challenge."

Assuming the US qualify, Kerr will be in charge for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

The Jamaican, now 31, was once billed as the heir apparent to illustrious compatriot Usain Bolt after several competitive displays against the world record holder.  In 2011, Blake took the gold medal in the 100m, at the Daegu World Championships, after Bolt was disqualified for false starting.

The sprinter followed that up with two close finishes behind Bolt in the 100m and the 200m at the London Olympics the following year.  In that time period, Blake also posted the second-fastest times ever recorded over both events with 9.69 in the 100m and 19.26 in the 200m.

His rapid upward trajectory ground sharply to a halt, however, when he suffered a major hamstring injury in 2013 and then again in 2014.  The sprinter has since struggled to rediscover anything close to his best form.

Two years later he was back on the world stage at the 2016 Rio Olympics but finished fourth in 100m final and crashed out at the semifinal stage in the 200m.  When it comes to performing at major games, it's safe to say things have not improved since.  At the 2017 World Championships in London, Blake once again finished fourth in the 100m and failed to advance to the 200m final.

Two years later at the 2019 World Championships, the first without Bolt, he placed fifth in the 100m and for a fourth straight major game did not advance to the 200m final.

Despite finishing second in both events at the National Championships a few weeks ago, however, Levy believes the athlete is in physical shape to launch an assault on the medal podium later this month.

“After he finished second at the National Trials in late June, I had a chat with Michael Frater, one of the coaches at the Titans international club, who told me Blake was in physical shape to run 9.8s,” Levy said on weekly SportsMax.tv program Tokyo Take.

A time anywhere in the region of 9.8s would have been enough to get the athlete a spot on the podium at any of the last seven major games, including in 2011 when he won the title.

Levy also pointed to Blake’s most recent performance, a 9.95 clocking at the Stars and Stripes Classic in Georgia last week.  The time was his fastest of the season.

“He ran 9.95 in Florida, his best time since 2017 when he ran 9.94 in Brussels.”

Blake’s time of 9.95 puts him 11^th on the world list this season, which is led by the USA’s Trayvon Bromell who ran 9.77 last week.

The athlete himself has, however, also constantly reiterated his determination to get back on the podium.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed the Tokyo Olympics – which had been due to start in July – has been postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing crisis.

World Athletics has welcomed the decision, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) having initially been reluctant to postpone the showpiece event.

It appears inevitable the World Athletics Championship, due to be held in Oregon in August 2021, will be nudged back a year to 2022 as a result.

Though disappointed at the 2020 schedule being hugely affected, Coe suggested there is now an opportunity to reinvigorate athletics.

"When we get through this, and we will, we will be braver and more innovative," Coe wrote in an open letter on Friday.

"We will be more collaborative and resilient. We will be stronger and more tolerant. We will be more global, not less.

"In sport we have a unique opportunity not to tiptoe around things and tweak at the edges. We have the chance to think bigger, to rip up the blueprints and banish the 'that's the way we've always done it' mentality."

Coe added: "The situation the world finds itself in today is a huge wake-up call for all of us – as human beings, as businesses and as sport. We should capitalise on this and work out new ways of delivering events, create and plan new events that embrace the many as well as the few.

"We can use this time to innovate and extend our sport across the year. Rather than just focusing on one-day meetings and one-day road races at one end of the spectrum and 10-day extravaganzas at the other end, we should look at weekend festivals of running, jumping and throwing that take advantage of the southern and northern hemisphere seasons.

"We should work with governments to re-establish sport in schools, rebuild club structures, incentivise people to exercise and get fit. This should and could be the new normal. We don't have to do things the same way.

"The priority for all of us right now is to contain the pandemic, stay healthy and stay home. But where we can continue to drive our sport forward, we must."

Coe also revealed his organisation will do all it can to ensure the outdoor season of one-day meetings goes ahead as soon as it is safe, with Diamond League events having been postponed until at least June.

Durant did not play any of the pre-Olympic warm-up games due to a calf injury and was only cleared to play for the USA an hour before their opener started.

However, he made a huge impact in just 17 minutes, nailing his first eight shots, including five 3-pointers, as he scored 23 points.

After being touch-and-go for the tournament, with coach Steve Kerr reluctant to rush him back too early, Davis says the team knew he would be ready when called upon.

"We expect nothing less," he said. "We know what he can do when the ball is in his hand, and he got hot. It was fun to watch his first time, second time, 12th.

"To see and be a fan and actually get a chance to cheer for him instead of rooting against [him] with his scoring ability – man, it was fun to watch."

Durant was not the only one in fine form, as LeBron James marked his Olympic comeback with a standout performance, getting 21 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as he provided a spark.

James and Durant also became the first USA team-mates to both score over 20 points in an Olympic opener.

The 39-year-old, playing his first contest at the Games since 2012, when he won his second consecutive gold medal, was full of praise for Durant and the team as the USA chase a sixth title in a row.

"I mean [Durant] is just an out-of-this-world talent," he said after the game. "That's the best game we played so far.

"[I'll do] Whatever it takes [to win]. It's going to be somebody different every day. And we have that type of firepower."

Next up for Team USA in Group C is South Sudan, who made history in their Olympic debut earlier on Sunday.

Their basketball federation was only formed in 2011, and they beat Puerto Rico 90-79 for their first win at the Games.

Biles claimed her fifth Olympic gold medal, her first since Rio 2016, after suffering from the 'twisties' in Tokyo four years ago. 

Along with team-mates Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Hezly Rivera, Team USA finished ahead of Italy and Brazil with a score of 171.296.

Team USA recorded the highest score on all four rotations and retained their crown as Olympic champions after settling for silver in Japan after Biles withdrew to protect her mental and physical health.

The Americans previously won team gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics and have won every team World Championship since 2011.

Biles delivered excellent performances on the bars and beam routines before a floor display that sealed the gold medal, something the 23-time world champion had set her sights on four years ago. 

"I think we all had something to prove from Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and tonight we did just that," Biles said. 

"It means the world. This was our goal going in, even though we didn't share it with everybody because it's just a personal thing that we were working on.

"But I think for everybody it's what we came here to do. And we're super excited to walk away with that gold medal."

Biles further cemented her legacy as one of the greatest athletes of all time, moving up to the top five among gymnasts with the most Olympic golds.

She also became the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history with eight medals, surpassing USA great Shannon Miller.

Biles has four more finals still to come, with her next opportunity coming on Thursday in the all-around final, followed by the vault final on Saturday and the floor and beam finals on Monday.

The 23-year-old's 95th-minute strike proved the decisive goal of the USWNT’s 1-0 semi-final victory against an injury-stricken Germany.

The result means new coach Emma Hayes will have the chance to go for gold in her first major tournament at the helm.

Smith dedicated her goal to the effort of the whole US squad under the ex-Chelsea boss.

"I just saw an open net in front of me and knew I had to step up in the big moment," Smith told NBC. "I felt I had to do that for this team, we've been working so hard.”

Team USA stayed perfect by beating Puerto Rico 104-83 on Saturday, ensuring they sealed the top seed for the last eight.

That means the four-time reigning Olympic champions will take on the seventh seed, Brazil, for a place in the semi-finals.

Anthony Edwards led the USA with 26 points, while Joel Embiid chipped in with 15 and Kevin Durant delivered another fine substitute performance, scoring 11 points from the bench.

And while the USA have tallied up 317 points in their three wins so far, Kerr believes there is much more to come.

"I think we got done what we wanted to accomplish, winning all three games and securing the top seed," said Kerr.

"We know we have to play better. Part of this tournament is it gets harder as you go."

LeBron James added 10 points for the star-studded USA, and he knows it is now do-or-die.

"We know it's going to be difficult, it's going to be challenging," he said. "We better be ready to go."

In Group C's other game, Nikola Jokic scored 22 points and finished with 13 rebounds, while Bogdan Bogdanovic had 28 points, as Serbia saw off South Sudan 96-85.

While Serbia clinched the fourth seed to set up a meeting with Australia, South Sudan's inaugural Olympics campaign is over, with Greece scraping in as one of the two best third-placed teams.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's team will take on second seed Germany, who like the USA, won their three group games.

The quartet of Briana Williams, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson captured the gold medal with a new national record of 41.02.  The time narrowly eclipsed the previous mark of 41.07, set at the 2008 Beijing Games, but was some way short of the 40.82 set by the USA in 2012.  The time was, however, the third-fastest ever run over the distance.

Even with the threat of the US, the quartet used safe changes for most of the race, with the bigger target clearly being the gold medal.  Despite, dominating the 100m sprints for over a decade, the gold medal was the first for the Jamaica women’s team since Athens 2004.

“It wasn’t perfect, but we did manage to get the stick around.  We didn’t get the world record, but we got a national record on Independence Day, what more could you ask for,” Thompson-Herah, who added a third gold medal for the Games, said following the event.

Fraser-Pryce, the 100m silver medallist, backed up the notion.

“It was good, as an elite athlete or a senior athlete, I was just ready to make sure we took the opportunity and took the stick around and we got a national record.  We wanted a world record, but we also wanted Elaine to get the three gold medals because the last Olympics she missed it and now we have it,” Fraser-Pryce said.

The Jamaicans had taken silver behind the USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the last time Thompson had been in a position to claim three gold medals after winning the 100m and 200m.

The relay gold was, however, also the first for Fraser-Pryce, who saw the team she was part of at the 2008 Olympics fail to get the baton around the track and also being a part of quartets that finished second in both 2012 and 2016.

Williams was participating in her first Olympics, while Jackson who got a 4x400m silver in 2016 has only just started to take part in the sprints.

On Monday, a CAS panel rejected an appeal filed by woman bobsledder Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian who had called for a recalculation of the point rankings for the Beijing 2022 Quota Allocation for the two-woman event, based only on races that actually took place. 

The appeal was based on the decision made by the Olympic organisers after inclement weather had led to the cancelation of a meet scheduled for Germany on December 4.  According to the filing, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation instead counted a December 5 competition twice, which allowed a sled piloted by France’s Margot Boch to qualify for the final spot in the two-woman bobsled competition at the Olympics. The decision meant Audra Segree, Fenlator-Victorian's brakewoman, missed out on a spot via a tiebreak.  The court, however, rejected the appeal.

While insisting it was important to air their grouses, Stokes insists the team is ready to move on.

“The decision has come down as dismissed, we accept that wholeheartedly.  Winning is one thing but the more important thing is to speak up and I’m very proud of Jazmine for speaking up,” Stokes said.

“We maintain that it is better sports results be determined on the field of play and not in administration but we put that behind us and we are now in a high-performance zone and we are getting ready for competition.”

Fenlator-Victorian will compete in the Women’s Monobob, which gets underway on February 11.  Jamaica’s men’s team will compete in both the Two-Man and Four-Man events, which get underway a few days later.

Heading into the women’s 100m, it is the Jamaican trio of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson who have clocked the fastest times over the distance this year.

Out front, is reigning world champion and two-time winner of the event Fraser-Pryce, with her best time of 10.63, which was recorded last month.  The time was the second-fastest time ever recorded over the distance and fastest in 33 years.

Next up, reigning Olympic champion Thompson-Herah has a season-best of 10.71, a run that she recorded a few weeks ago.  American sprinter Sha’carri Richardson is next on the world's top list with her time of 10.72, which was recorded in April.  Richardson will, however, miss out on the Games after testing positive for marijuana last month.

Jackson, formerly a 400m specialist, had a breakout performance in the sprints last month where she recorded a personal best of 10.77, at the country’s national trials where she was second behind Fraser-Pryce.  The fourth-fastest this year, by an athlete, and certainly puts the 27-year-old firmly in the conversation.

“The women’s 100m will be won by Shelly-Ann Fraser, that's my personal favourite.  I really think Jamaica has the opportunity to sweep.  I think Shericka Jackson has something up her sleeve,” Bailey said during the SportsMax.Tv special series Great Ones.

“We know Elaine will be there, but I think Shelly-Ann is going to get up and keep Elaine out, but I think Shericka Jackson has something for somebody,” he added.

In addition to their fast times this season, all three Jamaicans have the experience of standing on the medal podium.  Fraser-Pryce won the event at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, while Thompson-Herah won the 2016 edition.  It will be Jackson’s first time competing at the event, but she claimed a bronze medal in the 400m at the 2016 Rio Games.

“I was looking forward to this race because I really wanted to see Sha’Carri Richardson under the spotlight with the greatest sprinters of this generation.  I was looking forward to that,” Bailey said.

“The men’s final is open but the women’s final for me is a little more straightforward.  When the lights shine bright, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will not back down.”

Like most of the world’s athletes who were preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Blake has been forced into staying home as the countries across the globe attempt to “flatten the curve” on the pandemic that has infected more than 1.5 million persons. More than 102,000 persons have died so far.

However, for Blake who has not won an Olympic medal since his double silver in 2012, the work goes on.

“We are doing some aerobatic fitness work, making sure that we are fit. We all are at a halt now yes, but we have to stay mentally strong,” Blake told Sportstar magazine in India. “The training programme has changed. We are working three times a week now to keep the body in the right shape.

“With the Olympics put off, it is sad, but we can still have a shot at it next year and also, this will help an athlete to be more ready.”

When he isn’t keeping fit, Blake revealed that he spends some time engaging in his favourite pastime, cricket, in his backyard.

“You need to keep yourself motivated, and also watch videos, spend time with the loved ones. That’s all we can do for now,” Blake said.

That ethic helped the 2011 World 100m champion become the fastest man in the world, not named Usain Bolt. His 9.69/19.26 over the 100 and 200m is testament to that fact. In fact, had it not been for the presence of Bolt, Blake might well have been a double Olympic champion in 2012 when his 9.75 and 19.44 saw him win double silver.

However, the past few years have been unkind to the man formerly known as The Beast. Hamstring injuries have slowed Blake to the point where he missed out on winning medals in 2016 in Rio and 2017 at the World Championships in London.

The Tokyo 2020 Games would have been another opportunity for the 30-year-old Blake to re-establish himself as one of the world’s best sprinters. However, with the Games being postponed to the summer of 2021, Blake is leaning once again on that work ethic. While the pandemic rages across the globe, Blake is putting the work he deems essential to get back to being at his best.

“My career in athletics has been a dream come true.  For that, I give thanks every day.  But with injuries things get difficult. Yet, I don't stop, I keep pushing to come back,” Blake said on Instagram on Wednesday under a 90-second video of him executing some excruciating leg exercises under the supervision of his coach Gregory Little.

“With Coronavirus everything is postponed right now I am making the most of it.  I am using this time to talk with my body and unlock the power of my mind to conquer and overcome what has been holding me back on the track. I am working hard to get back to that dangerous form.”

Perrett will be back at the Lee Valley Velodrome this weekend for the final two rounds of the UCI Track Champions League, 11 months after a stunning victory in the men’s scratch race here helped him force his way on to Britain’s podium programme.

At the time, Perrett had quit his job and was self-funding in a bid to prove himself to the national team coaches, and his Champions League display came after he had taken a points race fifth on his World Championships debut and won the British Madison title alongside Mark Stewart.

It worked and in January he was invited in to train full-time as part of the elite programme.

But nothing has come easily for Perrett and a fresh setback was just ahead. In March he was diagnosed with glandular fever as a result of the Epstein-Barr virus.

“Initially I was just incredibly ill,” Perrett told the PA news agency. “I had tonsillitis-esque symptoms and incredible fatigue. I’d go for a walk around the block, come back and sleep for an hour. It was horrible. You feel a bit helpless.”

Had it happened while Perrett was funding himself, the illness could have ended his elite racing career.

“I would have been absolutely screwed,” he said. “If I’d not been on the programme I wouldn’t have been able to race, I wouldn’t even have been able to work because I was so tired. It could have ended everything.

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“That’s a massive benefit of being on the programme. You get so much help from the doctors, the coaches. They’ve not been pushy. They’ve said, ‘Look, we need to rebuild your foundations and then build you back up.’ That’s what I’m hoping to do this winter.”

Perrett believes he is still missing around five per cent of his threshold – a massive number at the elite end.

Yet he was able to claim another fifth place in the points race at the World Championships in Glasgow and earn another invitation to the Champions League, the glitzy made-for-television series which is in its third season.

Perrett struggled for results in the opening three rounds in Mallorca, Berlin and Paris as he works his way back up to speed, but will come to London for the sold-out finale on Friday and Saturday buoyed by memories of last December.

“I’ve been a bit ropey after a bit of time off after the worlds but I’ve loved being back (in the Champions League),” he said. “It’s good fun, the racing and the atmosphere.”

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There will be plenty of British interest in London, with defending champion Katie Archibald top of the women’s endurance standings, Emma Finucane third in the women’s sprint, and Will Tidball and Stewart fourth and fifth respectively in the men’s endurance.

Perrett’s goal is to keep plugging away for form as he eyes selection for the Euros in January. He remains an outsider for Paris as only four male endurance riders will go, meaning those four must be competitive in the team pursuit, but a chance is all he asks for.

“At the moment I haven’t got the results or the experience at that level of team pursuiting,” he said. “Only four riders go to the Olympics. It’s a crazy stupid rule. The Madison is a 200-lap, 50 minute event but to get into that you have to be able to get into the one that lasts three minutes 45 seconds.

“It’s a stupid rule but it’s the one you have to aim towards…But I have an opportunity and as long as I get the opportunity, that’s what matters.”

Running in semifinal 3, Williams stopped the clock at 50.11 seconds to place third. She smashed the 43-year-old Barbadian record of 51.04 seconds. It is also, of course, her new personal best.

Stephenie Ann McPherson from Jamaica won the race with a personal best of 49.34 while veteran Allison Felix was second with a season's best of 49.89.

Despite Williams' valiant run, she did not advance to the final. Her time is now the fastest run by an athlete to not make it to the final.

The finals of the women's 400 metres will take place on Friday.

The reigning Wimbledon champion recovered from losing the opening set at Roland-Garros, where she eventually prevailed 4-6 6-0 7-6 (7-3) in just under three hours.

Krejcikova has fond memories of Court Philippe-Chatrier, lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for her maiden singles slam three years ago, but fell behind after she was broken three times in the opening set.

Nevertheless, the Czech came roaring back with a bagel to set up a deciding set, which came down to a tie-break, before she held her nerve to set up a second-round clash with Wang Xinyu.

Data Debrief: Eight straight wins for Krejcikova

It was not easy, but the reigning Wimbledon champion eventually built on her momentum from SW19, stretching her singles winning streak to eight matches.

Although beaten by eventual gold medallist Belinda Bencic in round three in Tokyo three years ago, Krejcikova did triumph in the women's doubles alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova.

She will hope that previous podium experience will help drive her towards crowning a memorable year with another gold in Paris. 

The American, who has the right to appeal against the ruling made by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), stands to miss the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. 

The 24-year-old was provisionally suspended in June for whereabouts failures but disputed the third of those. He took responsibility for the first missed test on January 16, 2019 and claimed the second, on April 26 of the same year, was due to "a filing failure". 

Coleman said he was only notified of the third missed test on December 10, the following day. He said he had been out Christmas shopping but returned during the one-hour window to be tested and questioned why he was not contacted by telephone by the tester. 

In a lengthy Twitter post, he said: "I've been contacted by phone literally every other time I've been tested. Literally, Idk [I don't know] why this time was different. 

"He even said he couldn't hear the doorbell so why wouldn't you call me? Why would AIU tell him not to contact me? He put down the wrong address btw [by the way] so who knows if he even came to my spot. 

"That night I have multiple receipts of going shopping then getting food and coming back during this time, so I don't think he stayed for an hour and WHY WOULD AIU TELL HIM NOT TO CALL ME?! 

"The AIU has to stop playing, man. Two days later they came back to test me…and followed the normal protocol and called and of course there were no issues with my test. And I've been tested multiple times since, even during quarantine. 

"But of course that doesn't matter, and the fact that I have never taken drugs doesn't matter." 

However, a tribunal rejected Coleman's defence that he returned home within the one-hour period, citing shopping receipts showing he purchased 16 items from a Walmart after the time slot. 

"We regret to say that we do not think there is any mitigation which can fairly be relied upon to reduce the sanction from the two-year period," the tribunal said. 

"Unfortunately, we see this case as involving behaviour by the athlete as very careless at best and reckless at worst." 

Coleman won gold in the 100m and 4x100m relay in Doha last year, having claimed silver in each event in London in 2017, beating Usain Bolt into third in the individual final. 

He ran 9.76 seconds in Qatar in September 2019, the sixth-fastest 100m time in history and the third-fastest by an American, behind Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay. 

He set a new world record over 60m indoors in February 2018, clocking a time of 6.34 seconds in Albuquerque.