Los Angeles (AFP) - Reigning world champion and world record holder Christian Coleman seeks his third consecutive 60-meter crown at this weekend's US Indoor Track and Field Championships in Spokane, Washington.
Coleman, who turns 26 on March 6, returned from a two-year layoff with a 60m victory in 6.49 seconds at last month's Millrose Games in New York.
It was the first major event Coleman contested since February 2020 after serving an 18-month suspension for breaching anti-doping whereabouts rules -- a ban that kept him from last year's Tokyo Olympics.
Coleman set a world record of 6.34 seconds at the 2018 US Indoors final and also took the US 60m crown in 2020 in 6.37.The US Indoors were not contested in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 60m field for the two-day US meet -- the American qualifying event for next month's World Indoor Championships at Belgrade -- also includes 2017 winner Ronnie Baker, the third-fastest man in history in the event, plus three-time US 60m champions Marvin Bracy and Mike Rodgers.
Coleman won the 2018 world indoor 60m crown at Birmingham while the 2020 meet in China was postponed to 2023.In addition to defending his indoor world crown, Coleman hopes to defend his world outdoor 100m title in July at Eugene, Oregon.
"You come into each race focused and race intently and it will come back to you," Coleman said after his Millrose victory.
Three Olympic champions will compete at the US Indoors, including two-time reigning men's shot put champion Ryan Crouser, the indoor and outdoor world record holder who seeks a third consecutive national indoor crown.
Crouser set the world indoor record of 22.82m last year to break the old mark of 22.66 by Randy Barnes from 1989.
Reigning Olympic women's pole vault gold medalist Katie Nageotte, a two-time US indoor champion, faces reigning world and US indoor champion Sandi Morris.
Trevor Stewart, a member of the US gold medal 4x400m relay in Tokyo, will race in the 400.
Grant Holloway seeks his first US indoor crown in the 60m hurdles, where he is unbeaten in more than 50 consecutive races.The 2019 outdoor 110m world champion set the world indoor record of 7.29 last March at Madrid.
Ajee Wilson, who has won a combined nine US 800m indoor and outdoor crowns, is again favored in her specialty while reigning world 800m outdoor champion and US record holder Donavan Brazier faces defending US champion Bryce Hoppel.
