American sprinter Stevens suspended in doping case

MONACO (AP):

American sprinter Deajah Stevens was provisionally suspended yesterday for repeatedly being unavailable for doping tests.

The Athletics Integrity Unit said Stevens amassed three whereabouts violations in a year.

Athletes are required to provide regular updates on their whereabouts to make it possible for anti-doping authorities to carry out surprise testing outside of competition. A violation means an athlete either did not fill out forms telling authorities where they could be found, or that they weren’t where they said they would be when testers arrived.

Stevens won the US national title in the 200m in 2017 and was a finalist in the 200m at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The AIU said similar suspensions were imposed on American sprinter Gabrielle Thomas and Kenyan distance runner Alex Korio Oliotiptip. It didn’t specify when or where the violations occurred.

World champion sprinter Christian Coleman was cleared of a whereabouts charge last year. One of the American’s alleged violations was backdated, putting it outside of the required 12-month window for three strikes.

Also Friday, the AIU said Kenyan runner Mikel Kiprotich Mutai, the winner of the Hong Kong Marathon in 2016, was suspended after testing positive for the banned substance norandosterone.