Christian Coleman sees off world champion Noah Lyles to win gold in the 60m final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships… his first major title since returning from an 18-month ban for missing three drugs tests
- Christian Coleman stormed to victory in Glasgow on Friday evening
- He defeated Noah Lyles in the men’s indoor 60 meters final to win gold
- It was his first major title since he was suspended for missing three drug tests
The villain defeated the hero on Friday night when Christian Coleman held off American rival Noah Lyles to win world indoor gold in Glasgow.
Coleman clocked 6.41 seconds in the 60m final for his first major title since returning from an 18-month ban for missing three drugs tests.
It meant crowd favorite Lyles, the world champion in the 100 and 200 metres, had to settle for silver in 6.44 seconds, a warning of the threat his compatriot will pose to him at the Paris Olympics.
This was not the result that the Scottish fans or the sport wanted. Still, it whets the appetite for what will happen this summer, as their rivalry has echoes of the battle between good and evil between Usain Bolt and drug chief Justin Gatlin, which has dominated the past decade.
Lyles defeated Coleman – the 60m world record holder and 2018 indoor champion – in the US trials last month. Yet it did not look like he would repeat that trick on Friday evening at the Emirates Arena.
Christian Coleman (right) defeated Noah Lyles (center) to claim gold in the men’s 60m final at the World Indoor Athletics Championships on Friday
For Coleman, it was the first major title he has won since returning after an 18-month ban for missing three drug tests.
Coleman (right) said he was ‘happy to secure the win’ and set his sights on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris
Coleman was the fastest qualifier of the heats and semi-finals, and he led the final from start to finish, making up for his fifth-place finish behind Lyles in the 100m world final in Budapest last summer.
“I think I’m the best 60m runner ever, but the exciting thing is that my ceiling is so much higher,” said the 27-year-old, whose anti-doping ban rules him out of Tokyo 2020.
‘It’s 2024 and I’m entering my prime mentally, physically and spiritually. I’ll have to be on my A-game and I’m confident I’ll be there at the Olympics.”
Lyles, who finished strongly to take silver ahead of Jamaican Ackeem Blake, said: ‘That’s the second fastest time I’ve ever done. “I increased the worst part of my race by drastic numbers. They should be afraid of me.”
Earlier in the evening, Georgia Bell qualified second for Sunday’s 1500m final in 4:04.39 on her senior debut in Great Britain.
Georgia Bell qualified second for Sunday’s 1500m final on her senior debut for Great Britain
The 30-year-old (right) has a full-time job in cyber security but admitted she could give it up to focus on qualifying for the Olympics
Morgan Lake missed out on a major medal when she finished sixth in the women’s high jump
The 30-year-old has a full-time job in cyber security and said earlier this week she might give it up to focus on qualifying for the Olympics, causing some panic in her London office.
“I got a lot of emails from work saying, ‘What’s going on? Is there something you want to tell us?'” Bell admitted.
Meanwhile, Morgan Lake missed out on another major medal when she finished sixth in the women’s high jump, won by Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers.