US’ Olympic 100m medallist Kerley provisionally banned for anti-doping violation
Kerley shares letter saying he will contest ruling that he broke anti-doping whereabouts obligations
American Fred Kerley, a two-time 100 metres Olympic medallist, has been provisionally suspended for failing to notify anti-doping officials of his whereabouts, it was announced on Tuesday.
Kerley, who took 100m silver at the Tokyo Olympics and bronze last year in Paris, as well as the 2022 world 100m crown, was suspended for “failing to comply with his anti-doping whereabouts obligations”, according to the Athletics Integrity Unit.
Elite athletes have strict requirements about informing anti-doping officials about their locations, such as at training camps or when travelling, and must provide a time and location each day to comply with rules regarding unannounced doping tests.
Three failures within a year to comply with the requirements, such as a missed test or inaccurate information given to the anti-doping agency, are punishable.
Kerley, in a posting on X, shared a letter from last week saying he intends to contest the violation ruling, and saying one or more of his missed tests should be set aside “either because he was not negligent or because the Doping Control Officer did not do what was reasonable under the circumstances to locate him at his designated location”.