On Friday, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) handed a two-year whereabouts suspension to former 100m world champion and Olympic medallist Fred Kerley.
In line with the AIU’s investigationthe American sprinter missed three doping checks between Might 11 and Dec. 6, 2024. Beneath anti-doping guidelines, three whereabouts failures inside a 12-month interval represent a violation. For 2 of the three missed checks, the AIU discovered the 30-year-old American sprinter’s conduct to be “negligent and reckless” in failing to stick to anti-doping laws.
A Disciplinary Tribunal has banned Fred Kerley (USA) for two years, from 12 August 2025, for Whereabouts Failures. DQ outcomes since 6 December 2024. Particulars right here:https://t.co/gukX5kDnD6https://t.co/7wb4oY4ATZ pic.twitter.com/dM7pLEddfP
— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) March 6, 2026
Kerley responded to the ban on X, posting an AI-generated picture of himself combating fictional officers from three anti-doping businesses: United States Anti-Doping Company (USADA), the AIU and the World Anti-Doping Company (WADA).
The primary missed check occurred on Might 11, 2024, three days earlier than Kerley posted on X that there could be a world file the following time he ran the 100m. The AIU stated a doping management officer (DCO) arrived at Kerley’s Miami dwelling through the 60-minute time slot he had designated for testing. Upon arrival, Kerley was not current and had did not replace his whereabouts from the Miami handle to the residence the place he was staying in Jamaica. In line with the reporthe solely realized the error when the DCO arrived on the listed handle.
I’m bored with holding all the pieces in.
You possibly can’t management me, and the reality is louder than silence. pic.twitter.com/0rV9gvT041— Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) March 6, 2026
The second missed check occurred on June 13, 2024. Kerley had up to date his whereabouts to a resort in Munich, the place he was staying on the time. When the DCO arrived throughout his designated 60-minute time slot, Kerley was not on the resort. The officer tried to contact Kerley by cellphone, however the name went to voicemail. In a case like this, AIU pointers state the accountability is on the athlete for failing to reply the decision through the specified testing window.
The third missed check got here on Dec. 6, when Kerley had listed a non-public condo advanced in West Hollywood, Calif., as his location. When the DCO arrived through the designated time slot, nobody answered the door. The officer reportedly made three cellphone calls to Kerley over 10 minutes and rang the doorbell a number of occasions, however obtained no response.
Kerley later stated he didn’t reply the door as a result of the condo was not his residence, and he didn’t acknowledge the caller. “I lived in L.A., you progress smarter than that,” Kerley wrote on X. “It was a random quantity from Mexico that appeared like a rip-off name, and I’m presupposed to reply that?”
Kerley received the 100m title on the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore., working 9.76 seconds. He’s additionally a two-time particular person Olympic medallist, profitable silver within the 100m at Tokyo 2020, and bronze in the identical occasion at Paris 2024.
The 30-year-old’s interval of ineligibility will run till Aug. 11, 2027, and all outcomes recorded from Dec. 6, 2024, onward will probably be disqualified. He has additionally been ordered to pay US$4,000 to World Athletics in authorized charges and different bills associated to the whereabouts investigation.
He has the choice to attraction the two-year suspension to the Courtroom of Arbitration for Sport. Kerley can also be one among a number of beforehand introduced athletes scheduled to compete within the Enhanced Video games this Might.
