Adel Mechaalworld runner-up in the 3,000 meter indoor track, declared this Wednesday, referring to the temporary suspension of Mohamed Katir on the part of Integrity Unit in Athleticsthat the news is “not negative, it’s always positive”, and described the AIU as an “independent, serious and proper body”.
Katir, world runner-up in the 5,000 meters, announced this Wednesday in a statement his “provisional suspension” by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) due to “a violation of the rules resulting from three location failures in the last twelve moon.” .
These failures relate to three occasions where Katir could not be found to undergo an anti-doping test. The athlete attributes them to errors when completing the data for the location on the platform created for this purpose, ADAMS.
“The news has never been negative, it has always been positive,” said Mechaal, in a video from the Athletics Federation of the Valencian Community, organizer of Valencia Grand Prix held this Wednesday and in which the Catalan athlete participated with a victory in the 3,000 meters.
Mechaal was also temporarily suspended in December 2016 International Athletics Federation (World Athletics) after a file opened by Spanish Anti-Doping Agency (AEPSAD) -now CELAD- for failing three times to pass doping controls at the time, something similar to what happened to Katir.
In July 2017 Mechaal announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sports (TAS) upheld his appeal and annulled the one-year sanction imposed on him by the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sports (AEPSAD) for allegedly three failed doping controls.
“My case is with AEPSAD, now called CELAD, which is working terribly. I hope they change and that perspective is changed because it removes credibility from all Spanish sport behind closed doors . Having a national agency that works hard is bad for Spanish athletics,” he admitted.
“AIU is something for Katir, which I trust does its job very well, they are an independent, serious, correct organization and that is the great variant,” he concluded.
Source: La Verdad
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