US Olympic medalist Kerley suspended for whereabouts failure

LOS ANGELES — American Fred Kerley, a two-time 100m Olympic medalist, has been provisionally suspended for failing to notify anti-doping officials of his whereabouts, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced Tuesday.

Kerley, who took 100m silver at Tokyo 2020 and bronze at last year's Paris Olympics, as well as the 2022 world 100m crown, was suspended for "failing to comply with his anti-doping whereabouts obligations", according to the AIU.

Elite athletes have strict requirements about informing anti-doping officials about their locations, such as at training camps or when traveling, 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, 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".

"Fred will not comment further at this time out of respect for the process, and looks forward to presenting his case to the appointed hearing panel."

Kerley, 30, was a Diamond League champion in 2018 at 400m, and third in the event at the 2019 worlds, before dropping the distance to concentrate on running the 100m.

After finishing runner-up to Italy's Marcell Jacobs at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2022, Kerley took the world title on home soil in Eugene, Oregon, with a time of 9.76 seconds, his personal best, before adding bronze to his Olympic medal collection last year in Paris.

The provisional ban adds to an already chaotic 2025 campaign for Kerley, who withdrew from the US championships two weeks ago, ending his hopes of running at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

In January, Kerley was arrested in Miami when a confrontation with police became physical after he expressed concern over his vehicle, which was parked near the scene of a criminal investigation.

Kerley was again arrested in Miami in early May after an altercation at the official hotel for athletes competing in Grand Slam Track, the new series launched by Michael Johnson this year.

In a separate case, he was accused and prosecuted in January for domestic violence against the mother of his children. He pleaded not guilty in both cases.

AFP