In a significant development for track and field, American sprinter Fred Kerley has been handed a two-year suspension for multiple anti-doping violations. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) confirmed the ban following a tribunal’s determination that the former world champion displayed negligence in adhering to anti-doping protocols.
The disciplinary panel found Kerley committed three whereabouts failures within a twelve-month span between May and December 2024. These violations occur when athletes fail to provide accurate information about their location for testing or miss scheduled tests. The tribunal characterized Kerley’s behavior as “negligent and, to a certain extent, reckless” given his extensive experience in elite competition.
Kerley’s competitive results from December 6, 2024, through August 12, 2025, have been nullified, requiring forfeiture of any titles, medals, and prize money earned during this period. His suspension will remain in effect until August 11, 2027. Additionally, the athlete has been ordered to pay World Athletics approximately £3,000 in legal costs.
The 30-year-old sprinter, who claimed the 100m world championship title in 2022 and earned Olympic medals in both Tokyo (silver) and Paris (bronze), had been provisionally suspended since August 2025, causing him to miss that year’s World Championships in Tokyo.
AIU Head Brett Clothier emphasized the critical importance of whereabouts compliance, stating: “Sophisticated doping substances may only be detectable within an athlete’s sample for a few days or even hours after administration. Anti-doping organisations need to be able to test athletes without notice on the day and hour of our choosing.”
Kerley partially contested the allegations, acknowledging one missed test but attributing two others to technical issues with the USADA app and alleged procedural errors by doping control officers. The tribunal dismissed a fourth potential violation from December 7th, having already established three violations.
The sprinter, who recently made headlines as the first track athlete to sign with the controversial Enhanced Games, retains the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.