The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed Mohamed Katir’s appeal of his ban for tampering with the Results Management process.
When the legal issues began
The legal issues for Katir began on February 7, 2024, when he was notified by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) that he had missed three tests within 12 months. This constitutes an appealable suspension and is considered equal to testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug (PED).
A month later, he was notified about the tampering allegations. In December last year, he was handed the four-year suspension. On January 9th, he filed an appeal.
The CAS media release reads, “After considering the written submissions, the CAS Panel found that the Athlete had committed an
ADRV for intentionally tampering with documents in relation to the doping control process. The Panel also found that there were no aggravated circumstances to justify an increase to the period of ineligibility of four years. Both appeals were dismissed and the decision of the WA Disciplinary Tribunal on 11 December 2024 is confirmed.”
The case is closed, Katir is now officially banned from the sport for a period of four years.
His suspension ends in February 2028. He will be nearly 31 years of age when he returns to the sport.
Performances
The Moroccan is a 5000 metre specialist who has won World Championship silver and bronze medals. His personal best is a national record 12:45.01. Katir’s 3000m best is an African record 7:24.68. Katir earned money from the Diamond League circuit by competing and winning races that would otherwise go to an athlete who may not have been doping.
From the 2020 to 2021 seasons, Katir’s personal bests in the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m all had big, red-flag drops in time. For example, his personal best in the 5000m in 2020 was 13:50.19, the following year it was 12:50.79. His 1500m best was 3:36.59; he dropped down to 3:28.76 the following year. From 2019 to 2021, his 3000m bests dropped by 25 seconds.
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