World silver medallist Katir banned for two years after admitting whereabouts failures
Katir is the world record-holder in the indoor 3,000 metres and the European record-holder in the outdoor 5,000m. He won silver in the 5,000m at the world athletics championships last year in Budapest, and bronze in the 1,500m at the worlds in Eugene, Oregon a year earlier.
Katir announced his provisional suspension in a February 7th statement, saying then that he would appeal the ban, however, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Friday that he had signed an admission of violation and acceptance of consequences form this week.
Katir admitted to three whereabouts failures in 2023, on February 28th, April 3rd and October 10th. His two-year period of ineligibility will run until February 6th, 2026.
"Without accurate Whereabouts information, anti-doping organisations cannot properly execute no-notice, Out-of-Competition testing that is the key to catching anyone who is doping and trying to gain an unfair advantage," AIU head Brett Clothier said in a statement.