They 'purposely' tricked me: US sprint king Coleman suspended after YET ANOTHER missed doping test – but has ready-made excuse

Controversial US world 100m champion Christian Coleman has been provisionally suspended and may miss next summer's Olympic games after being accused of missing a third drugs test in the space of a year.

The 24-year-old sprint star is accused of missing a test on December 9, 2019, which would be his third violation in 12 months and which could lead to a ban of up to two years.

"The AIU [Athletics Integrity Unit] confirms a provisional suspension against Christian Coleman of the USA for whereabouts failures, a violation of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules," a statement read.

December's missed test adds to violations from January 16, 2019, and April 26, 2019, and should it be confirmed as a whereabouts failure would see Coleman sanctioned under the three-strike rule.

The sprinter flatly denied responsibility as he attempted to get ahead of the story on Tuesday night – claiming he had been out Christmas shopping and that testers had "purposely" tried to trick him into missing a test. 

“Don’t tell me I ‘missed’ a test if you sneak up on my door (parked outside the gate and walked through...there’s no record of anyone coming to my place) without my knowledge,” Coleman wrote in a lengthy statement on social media.

“Knocked while I was Christmas shopping five minutes away at the mall (I have receipts and bank statements) and didn’t even bother to call me or attempt to reach me... I was more than ready and available for testing if I had received a phone call.”

The controversial Coleman only narrowly escaped a ban last year when he had a whereabouts failure from 2018 backdated on a technicality so that it meant he did not have three violations in a 12-month window.

Coleman was subsequently cleared him to run at September's World Championships in Doha, where he claimed gold with a time of 9.76 seconds. 

The decision was met with a backlash from some quarters, including Russian high-jump multiple world champion Maria Lasitskene, who called the ruling to allow Coleman to compete "jaw-dropping."