Katir was banned for four years after he lied on papers in an investigation into whereabouts failure

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has banned Spanish runner Mohamed Katir for four years for forgery during an investigation into his whereabouts fails. He was already banned for two years for this earlier this year.

Katir had said that he had failed to keep track of three people in 2023.
WADA’s “whereabouts” rule says that all athletes must allow drug testers to check them out for an hour every day when they are not competing.

According to World Athletics’ anti-doping rules, a rule violation happens after three failed whereabouts checks in a year.

The 26-year-old won the silver medal in the 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships last year. He will serve both bans at the same time, which means he won’t be able to participate again until February 2028.

“Katir… was found to have falsified travel documents (namely a travel itinerary, boarding pass and booking confirmation) in an attempt to mislead investigators,” the AIU said in a tweet.

The Disciplinary Tribunal that heard the case, on the other hand, turned down the AIU’s request to throw out Katir’s results from March 9, 2023, because he hadn’t had an unfair edge, the statement said.

“Most of our top athletes follow the sport’s strict rules and procedures, and they should be encouraged by what is being done to make sure everyone has a fair chance,” AIU head Brett Clothier said.