The Spanish top runner Mohamed Katir has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) of the world athletics association Word Athletics after missing three doping tests. The 5000 m vice world champion announced this in a statement distributed by Spanish media. Katir faces a ban of up to two years.
Katir announced that she would take action against the AIU’s decision. “I am of the opinion that there was no wrongdoing in the three location violations, since in some of the incidents in question I was certainly available at the location I specified at the appropriate time,” said the 25-year-old, who stated that he was around 25 during the period in question – to have been checked once.
Katir is one of the medal contenders for the Olympic Games in Paris. In 2022, the Moroccan native came third in the 1500 m World Championships in Eugene, and a year later he missed the 5000 m title at the World Championships in Budapest, coming second behind the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen by only 14 hundredths.