Mohamed Katir: World 5,000m silver medallist handed four-year ban for tampering
World 500m silver medalist Mohamed Katir has been banned for four years for tampering after he was found to have forged submitted travel documents during an investigation into a missed doping test.
The 26-year-old Spaniard Banned for two years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in February Missed three doping tests in 12 months.
But during the course of the investigation, the AIU found that on the day of one of the missed tests, February 28, 2023, Katir changed his travel itinerary, boarding pass and booking confirmation in an attempt to mislead the investigation into where he was that day. of investigators.
AIU requires athletes to record their “whereabouts”, external Assist with unannounced out-of-competition testing.
The four-year ban will run concurrently with Khadir’s previous sanctions, extending his ban until February 2028.
“There is no doubt that the athlete presented a false version of events and tampered with documents,” the AIU disciplinary tribunal concluded.
“He did this in order to convince WA (World Athletics) that his failed application on February 28, 2023 should not be treated as a whereabouts failure.”
Katir won the 1,500-meter bronze medal at the World Championships in 2022 and the 5,000-meter silver medal in 2023. He will miss the Tokyo World Championships next year and the 2027 Beijing World Championships.
The AIU’s request to cancel Katir’s results from March 9, 2023 was rejected by the disciplinary tribunal because the timing of his whereabouts failure did not provide a “competitive advantage affecting his results”.
AIU chief Brett Clothier said the ruling highlighted the seriousness of tampering.
“Gone are the days in athletics when the explanations provided in anti-doping cases were only accepted at face value,” Clotier said.
“Thanks to its significant investment in investigations, the AIU has prosecuted 25 tampering cases since its establishment in 2017.
“The vast majority of our elite athletes respect the sport’s strict rules and procedures and they should be heartened by the actions being taken to ensure a level playing field.”
