Athletics-Olympic medallist Kerley handed two-year ban following missed tests


Athletics - Diamond League - Silesia - Silesian Stadium, Chorzow, Poland - August 25, 2024 Fred Kerley of the U.S. celebrates after winning the men's 100m REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel

March 6 (Reuters) - American sprinter ⁠Fred Kerley has been suspended for missing three ⁠out-of-competition drug tests within a 12-month period, the ‌Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced on Friday.

The AIU said Kerley's missed tests qualify as whereabouts failures under the World Anti-Doping Code, which requires ​athletes in a registered testing pool to ⁠provide daily location details ⁠so they can be tested without notice.

Three missed tests ⁠or filing ‌failures in a year can trigger a sanction of up to two years.

“How does someone ⁠come forward and say they were given ​drugs, the athlete ‌gets banned but the whole camp isn’t investigated? Clean ⁠sport means ​accountability for everyone, not just the athlete," the sprinter wrote on X in response to the AIU statement.

Kerley, 30, ⁠won silver in the 100 metres at ​the Tokyo Olympics and bronze in Paris last summer. He also captured the 100-metre world title in 2022.

Kerley joined ⁠the Enhanced Games in September, a decision that came while he was facing a provisional suspension by the AIU for multiple whereabouts failures.

The event, which allows athletes to ​use performance-enhancing drugs that are banned ⁠in official competition, is set to take place on May ​24, 2026 in Las Vegas.

USA ‌Track & Field (USATF) did not immediately respond ​to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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