Two-Time World Medalist Mohamed Katir of Spain Provisionally Suspended for Whereabouts Failures
Katir, who earned 5,000m silver behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2023, is appealing the suspension
By Jonathan Gault and Robert JohnsonTwo-time World Athletics Championship medalist Mohamed Katir of Spain, who burst onto the world scene in 2021, has been provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures. Katir, 25, issued a statement to media outlets where he said he plans to appeal the suspension as he feels the second whereabouts violation was incorrectly recorded.
“I do not consider that there is an infringement resulting from three localisation failures in the last twelve months. In some of the localization failures reported by AIU, I was available in the place, date and time provided by me,” wrote Katir according to the Spanish running website Corredor (translated from Spanish).
If Katir’s suspension is upheld, he would serve a two-year ban, which could be reduced to one year depending on his degree of fault. Either way, he would miss the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris from August 1-11.
Top track & field athletes like Katir are required to provide a one-hour window each day in which they are available for drug testing and must also provide information about their daily location. In order to trigger a suspension, an athlete must register three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period. Those failures can consist of a missed test (a doping control officer is unable to test an athlete within their one-hour window) or a filing failure (the athlete’s location information is incorrect and/or the athlete cannot be located for a test outside of their one-hour window).
Katir is arguing that his second whereabouts failure should never have been recorded due to “un defecto de forma en el aviso de la segunda falta de localización” (formal defect in the notification of the second lack of location). Katir stressed in his statement that he has never failed a drug test.
“Over the last few months and years I have been subjected to a large number of out-of-competition doping controls in both urine and blood samples, without the slightest problem on my part.
“It is important to keep in mind that we are not dealing with a case of violating doping rules for the use of prohibited substances or methods, or even for evading out-of-competition doping controls. This is a simple file derived from the completion of location data on the ADAMS platform that could generate location errors (whereabouts).”
ADAMS is an acronym for the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Anti-Doping Administration & Management System, whichWADA describes as “web-based system that centralizes doping control-related information such as athlete whereabouts, testing history, laboratory results, the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) and information on Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs).”
Since Katir, who ran a world-leading 3:51.91 mile in Val-de-Reuil, France on January 28, is now provisionally suspended, it means that his attempt for the European indoor record of 12:57.08, which had been scheduled for Wednesday in Valencia, is now off.
From relative obscurity to World Championship medalist
Katir battled it out to the line with Ingebrigtsen in Budapest last year (Kevin Morris photo)
Katir, who was born in Morocco, moved to Spain when he was five and was largely unknown on the international running scene until the Olympic year of 2021. That year, at age 23, Katir dropped significant chunks of time off of his personal bests and began winning Diamond Leagues. In 2020, Katir finished just 5th at the Spanish indoor championships in the 3,000 and 7th at the Spanish outdoor championships in the 1500 and had modest personal bests of 3:36.59, 7:44.13, and 13:50.19. A year later, he was one of the best mid-d/distance guys in the world and his PRs improved to 3:28.76, 7:27.64, and 12:50.79, all of which were Spanish records. He also won two Diamond Leagues and finished 8th in the Olympic 5,000 final in Tokyo.
The following year, Katir earned a bronze medal in the 1500 at the World Championships in Eugene, and in 2023 he earned silver in the 5,000 at Worlds in Budapest, finishing just .14 behind gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen. Katir also broke Ingebrigtsen’s European record at 5,000 meters by running 12:45.01 in Monaco.
After Katir won the Florence Diamond League in June, he hopped into the comments of an Instagram post to defend himself against doping accusations. After a poster wrote “No way Katir is clean,” Katir responded with the following:
what hurts friend? while you criticize me that this is normal it is the nature of men when there is another man better than him they envy him, ask your wife if Katir is handsome or not 😼😼 surely your wife would be delighted to be with a winner not a loser
MB: Mo Katir fires back against doping accusations
In November 2023, Katir told Spanish outlet Relevo that he was the most-tested athlete in Spain.
“If you are one of the best in the world, it is to be expected that they will do so many checks on you,” Katir said, via Google Translate. “I see it very well and I would like those who are moving up [to] also have the same controls. It would be something positive for everyone.”
Later in that interview, Katir called for lifetime bans for dopers.
“I hope they make a law whereby if they catch you doping, they’ll kick you out forever,” Katir said. “That way, people who dope would think twice before doing it.”
Katir’s appeal will be heard in the coming months. He is not the only high-profile athlete in the midst of a whereabouts situation. Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan, the 2022 world champion and world record holder in the 100m hurdles, was provisionally suspended for whereabouts failures last summer. Amusan successfully appealed her suspension and is currently eligible to compete, but the Athletics Integrity Unit has appealed that decision to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, which will determine Amusan’s fate.
Official statement from Mohamed Katir (via Corredor, translated using Google Translate)
Today Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has informed me of a provisional suspension due to what it considers a violation of the rules derived from three location failures in the last twelve months (whereabouts).
During the disciplinary procedure, AIU has agreed to my provisional suspension. Since I do not agree with the aforementioned decision adopted by AIU, I am prepared to appeal it to the corresponding authorities to be able to compete during the processing of the procedure.
I consider that there is no violation arising from three location failures in the last twelve months. In some of the location failures reported by AIU, I was available at the place, date and times provided by me. Over the last few months and years I have been subjected to a large number of out-of-competition doping controls in both urine and blood samples, without the slightest problem on my part.
It is important to keep in mind that we are not dealing with a case of violating doping rules for the use of prohibited substances or methods, or even for evading out-of-competition doping controls. This is a simple file derived from the completion of location data on the ADAMS platform that could generate location errors (whereabouts).
I am going to proceed to defend myself in the appropriate instances, as it cannot be otherwise. Therefore, I request that the right to the presumption of my innocence be respected until the corresponding procedure is processed and concluded.
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MB: Mo Katir suspended for whereabouts failures
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