Justin Gatlin not on shortlist for IAAF World Athlete of the Year

American sprinter Justin Gatlin has not made the three-man shortlist for the World Athlete of the Year.

The 32-year-old, who has served two doping bans, was one of 10 contenders for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) award.

But high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and Dennis Kimetto, the world marathon record holder, are the three finalists.

Lord Coe was among those to criticise Gatlin's inclusion on the 10-man list.

The British double Olympic champion, an IAAF vice-chairman, said he had "big problems" with the nomination.

Gatlin has this year run the fastest 100m and 200m by a man in his thirties.

The 2004 Olympic 100m champion failed drugs tests in 2001 and 2006, the second of which initially brought him an eight-year ban that was halved on appeal. His return in 2011 was greeted with widespread unease.

And recent research by the University of Oslo, which found athletes could still be benefiting from having taken banned substances long after their suspensions expire, brought fresh focus on Gatlin's performances. Dai Greene, Britain's 2011 400m hurdles world champion, said: "Gatlin is over the hill as far as sprinting is concerned - he should never be running these times for the 100m and 200m."But he's still doing it, and you have to look at his past and ask how it is still affecting him now, because the average person wouldn't be able to do that."

Qatari Barshim, 23, took gold at the World Indoor Championships in March, while Frenchman Lavillenie, 28, broke the pole vault world record in February and won gold at the European Championships.

Kenyan Kimetto, 30, broke the world marathon record last month in Berlin. The women's shortlist comprises New Zealand's Valerie Adams, 30, who won Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold in the shot put, Ethiopian 3,000m runner Genzebe Dibaba, 23, and Dutch sprinter and heptathlete Dafne Schippers, 22. (BBC)