World 100m champion Justin Gatlin withdrew from Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic and a showdown with Christian Coleman.
It would have been the Americans’ first head-to-head since they went one-two in the 2017 World Championships 100m, relegating Usain Bolt to bronze in the Jamaican’s last individual race.
But Gatlin’s agent said the 36-year-old will miss the Diamond League meet in Eugene, Ore., due to right hamstring tightness picked up at a meet in Japan last weekend, according to Reuters.
Coleman, the world 100m silver medalist who twice broke the indoor 60m world record in the winter, also altered his Pre Classic plans.