World silver medallist Mohamed Katir handed four-year ban
World 5,000m silver medallist Mohamed Katir has been handed a four-year ban for tampering after it was revealed he falsified travel documents during an investigation into missed doping tests.
The 26-year-old Spanish athlete was initially suspended for two years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) in February for missing three doping tests within 12 months.
However, during its investigation, the AIU uncovered that, on the date of one of the missed tests, February 28, 2023, Katir had altered his travel itinerary, boarding pass, and booking confirmation in an attempt to mislead investigators about his whereabouts.
The AIU requires athletes to log their whereabouts to facilitate unannounced out-of-competition tests.
Katir’s four-year ban will run concurrently with his previous suspension, extending his ban until February 2028.
“There can be no doubt that the athlete put forward a false version of events and altered documents,” concluded the AIU’s disciplinary tribunal.
“He did so in order to persuade WA (World Athletics) that his filing failure on 28 February 2023 should not be treated as a whereabouts failure.”
Katir, who earned World Championship bronze in the 1500m in 2022 and silver in the 5,000m in 2023, will miss the World Championships in Tokyo next year and the event in Beijing in 2027.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had requested that Katir’s results from March 9, 2023, onwards be disqualified. However, this request was rejected by the disciplinary tribunal, as it determined that his whereabouts failure did not provide a “competitive advantage” that impacted his results.
The head of AIU Brett Clothier said the ruling underscored the seriousness of tampering.
“Gone are the days in athletics when explanations offered in anti-doping cases are just accepted at face value,” said Clothier.
“Thanks to strong investment in investigations, since its inception in 2017, the AIU has prosecuted 25 tampering cases.
“The vast majority of our elite athletes respect the strict rules and processes of the sport and they should take heart at the action being taken to ensure a level playing field.”