Ahead of the biggest event of the year, athlete stories surfacing are not always delightful. Some of them encompass injuries, whereas others include a ban or suspension. Doping is a way of cheating in sports when performance-enhancing drugs influence athletes to perform better than others. Mo Katir, caught for his whereabouts failure, faced a 2-year ban, putting his Paris dreams to a stop. Following him, another Spanish speedster Ouassim Oumaiz faces a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance.

The X post of Jonathan Gault reads, “First Mo Katir is banned two years for whereabouts. A month later, another top Spaniard, Ouassim Oumaiz, has tested positive for a banned substance. Oumaiz ran 13:06 last year and was a World Championship finalist in the 5,000m”. Having tested positive for GHRP-2 (growth hormone-releasing peptide 2), Oumaiz can face a serious upset in the ongoing season. The drug GHRP-2, when used once as a subcutaneous dose, can start affecting the individual within a short while.

With 2 sub-23 record breaks under his belt, the Spaniard unfurled victory after smashing the Spanish sub23 10 km road record in 2020. At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, the 24-year-old finished 16th in the 5000m dash, thus promising to finish at the podium next. But his dreams were crushed right in front of his eyes. Though he defended, the AIU will give the final verdict. Now, let’s read a little about Katir’s case.

Why was Mo Katir banned?

Though the 5000m specialist thought of appealing and defending himself on fairgrounds, he had to accept the decision of AIU. In the past year, he was held accountable for violating three whereabouts failures and missing doping tests. Since he didn’t appeal, his ban will last till February 7, 2026. Not only will he miss out on the 2024 Paris Olympics but also sit out of the 2025 World Championships. He has two silver medals from 2022 to 2023 World Championships, which he is allowed to keep.

According to the filling failures on February 28, April 3 and October 10, the 25-year-old fell victim to this upset. But on deeper investigation, he was also not left with any ground to defend himself. The doping control officer (DCO) tried to look into the situation and visit places according to Katir’s statements. Though the first story might be true, the team is not buying the other two.

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