EUGENE, United States (AFP) — Christian Coleman booked his place in the final of the 100m at the US Track and Field Championships on Friday hours after it emerged that girlfriend Sha’Carri Richardson had allegedly attacked him in what police described as a domestic violence incident.

Coleman, the 2019 100m world champion, advanced to Friday’s final after finishing second in his heat behind Kenny Bednarek.

Bednarek clocked the fastest time of the semi-finals with 9.90sec, while Coleman was second-quickest in 9.94sec. Ronnie Baker was third in 9.97sec.

Coleman was running just hours after it emerged that women’s 100m world champion Richardson had been arrested as the couple traveled to Eugene on Sunday.

Richardson was detained by police at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport following the incident.

A police report said video footage showed Richardson repeatedly shoving Coleman before throwing a set of headphones at the sprinter, who declined to co-operate with a police investigation.

Coleman did not speak to journalists after his semi-final on Friday.