IAAF Dismisses Claims of Systemic Corruption

(ATR) The IAAF says its detailed response to the WADA Independent Commission’s first report is no attempt to "downplay or distract from the allegations of corruption" linked to Russian doping scandal.

On Monday, the IAAF circulated to media a 35-page document analyzing the points made in Richard Pound’s commission report exposing state-sponsored doping in Russian athletics. Published in November, the report led to the suspension of Russia from international competition.

It comes three days before the second part of the WADA IC’s report that Pound has promised will have a "wow factor".

In a bid to salvage some credibility from its battered reputation, the IAAF lists seven major points in the response in a bid "to reassure the athletics community that it has not been failing to take effective action in the fight against doping in its sport".

"There is no systemic corruption within the IAAF, but instead a dedicated staff with high ethical standards whose work has contributed greatly to the fight against doping. The IAAF trusts that the actions of an alleged corrupt few will not be allowed to take away from that fact," the statement said.

The IAAF’s crisis management missive was referring to former president Lamine Diack, who faces criminal charges in France for corruption and money-laundering, and lifetime bans last week for his son Papa, former Russian athletics federation chief Valentin Balakhnichev and ex-Russian long-distance running coach Alexei Melnikov. They were sanctioned over allegations they covered up Russian doping violations. The IAAF’s ethics commission also handed down a five-year ban to its former anti-doping director Gabriel Dollé.

The IAAF saluted the courage of the whistle-blowers who aided the expose on Russian doping. "It will do everything in its power to punish the wrongdoers and to reform its own systems to make sure that no one can ever again interfere improperly with its anti-doping procedures," the statement said.

However, the IAAF’s defense will ring very hollow if more IAAF officials are named in Pound’s report on Jan. 14.

Among the key points it made in the dossier sent to Pound’s commission were:

• No doping case has been covered up by the IAAF. All cases that should have been pursued were pursued and all cases that should have been sanctioned were sanctioned;

• The IAAF is aware of four cases where there were unexplained and suspicious delays in the prescribed results management process; they have since been concluded with doping violations and lengthy bans of more than two years handed down

• The IAAF is not aware of any other interference with any other aspect of the work of the IAAF Medical & Anti-Doping Department;

• World athletics’ governing body said "there can be no doubt" about its commitment to the fight against doping in Russian athletics. Since 2011, 76 elite Russian athletes have been sanctioned thanks to the IAAF anti-doping program.

IAAF president Sebastian Coe was also under pressure Monday to do more to fight the scourge of doping in athletics.

UK Athletics called for all world records to be wiped clean in a new ‘clean era’ for athletics. It also plans to introduce lifetime bans for British athletes found guilty of serious drugs violations and is demanding the bans for serious doping offenses in global athletics be doubled from four to eight years..

These were among 14 recommendations in a "Manifesto for Clean Athletics" published by the ruling body of U.K. athletics today.

Other proposals to clean up the tainted sport include a call for the World Anti-Doping Agency to maintain a public global register of all drugs tests by athletes to invite more scrutiny and an increase in out-of-competition testing.

"Trust in the sport is at its lowest point for decades," said UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner. "UKA believes the time has come for radical reform if we are to help restore trust in the sport. Athletics needs to act very differently if we are to move on from the crisis facing the sport."

The IAAF welcomed the ideas from UKA and said the federation was already driving some of the changes.

"The IAAF registered testing pool will double, as will its testing budget, which represents over 50 percent of participants in the IAAF WC and all potential medal winners," it said in a statement sent to Around the Rings.

"Each of these athletes tested will automatically have an ABP profile created. We look forward to reviewing the recommendations in full over the coming days."

Written by Mark Bisson

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