Embattled former 100m world champion Fred Kerley hit with provisional suspension

Former 100-metre sprint world champion Fred Kerley has been provisionally suspended for “whereabouts failures” under the sport's anti-doping rules, the Athletics Integrity Unit has announced.

Lawyers for the 30-year-old Kerley hit back in a statement posted on the athlete's account on X.

“Fred Kerley has already notified the AIU that he intends to contest the allegation that he has violated the anti-doping rules related to whereabouts failures, as he strongly believes that one of (or) more of his alleged 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,” the statement said.

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It added: “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 won the silver medal in the 100 metres at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and the bronze in Paris last year.

He won 100m gold at the world championships in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.

“You can try to break me in the storm, but all you’re doing is giving me a better story at the finish line,” Kerley later posted on the same account.

In May, Kerley was charged in Florida with punching a woman, a hurdler who also competed in the Olympics.

That came just a few months after he was arrested for allegedly punching a Miami Beach police officer in January, an incident in which police used a taser on him.

His lawyers say Kerley is innocent of those charges.