FILE PHOTO: Athletics - Spain's Mohamed Katir celebrates winning a silver medal following the 5000m final at the World Athletics Championship - Budapest, Hungary - August 27, 2023 REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
(Reuters) - Spanish runner Mohamed Katir has been banned for four years by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) for falsifying documents during a probe into his whereabouts failures for which he was already suspended for two years earlier this year.
Katir had admitted to three whereabouts failures during 2023.
Under WADA's "whereabouts" rule, all athletes must make themselves available to drug testers for one hour a day for out-of-competition testing.
Under the World Athletics anti-doping rules, three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period result in a rule violation.
The 26-year-old, who won the silver medal in the 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships last year, will serve both bans concurrently, extending his ineligibility to compete 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 statement.
However, the Disciplinary Tribunal that ruled in the case denied the AIU's request to have Katir's results to be disqualified from March 9, 2023 because he had not benefited from a competitive advantage, the statement added.
"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,” AIU head Brett Clothier said.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
