EUGENE, United States (AFP) — Christian Coleman sprang to the defense of partner Sha’Carri Richardson on Sunday, a week after the reigning women’s 100m world champion was arrested for allegedly assaulting him at a US airport.

Speaking after a sixth-place finish in the 200m at the US track championships at Eugene, Oregon, Coleman said he believed Richardson should not have been detained following the incident at Seattle-Tacoma Airport last Sunday.

Richardson spent a night in jail after being detained, with a police report later stating she was caught on video repeatedly shoving Coleman forcefully.

“For me personally, I feel like it was a sucky situation all round,” Coleman said when asked about the incident by AFP. “I don’t feel like she should have been arrested.

“I mean people have discussions and emotions and stuff like that. She has things that she needs to work on for herself of course. So do I, so do you, so does everybody.

“But I’m the type of guy who’s in the business of extending grace, and mercy and love.”

Coleman, the 2019 world 100m champion, said the controversy had not affected his championships, where he failed to secure a top three finish in both the 100m and 200m. He will still head to Tokyo as part of the US relay pool.

Richardson meanwhile failed to qualify for the 200m earlier Sunday. She declined to speak to reporters afterwards, other than to wish media a “blessed day.”

But Coleman is backing the 25-year-old Texan to bounce back for the rest of the season.

“It didn’t affect me,” Coleman said of last Sunday’s incident. “She’s a human being and a great person, and I feel like you know, we’ve been able to be really good team-mates all year. We’re just two dominant personalities. To me, she’s the best female athlete in the world.

“She’s just had a lot of things going on, lot of emotions and forces going on inside of her that not only I can’t understand, but nobody can.

“Because she’s one-of-one. I know it’s been a tough journey for her this year.

“But she’s gonna bounce back because she’s the best female athlete in the world. I see it every day. She’s gonna be just fine. She gonna be good, and I’m gonna be good too.”