IOC President: Coe Will Wage War on Drug Cheats -- On the Scene

(ATR) Thomas Bach says he’s confident new IAAF president Sebastian Coe will ramp up the fight against drug cheats amid the doping allegations engulfing athletics.

Speaking at a press conference following a joint meeting of the IOC and IAAF in Beijing, Bach and outgoing athletics chief Lamine Diack faced a barrage of questions about the issue that is overshadowing the start of the world athletics championships.

The IOC chief said he and Coe, who was elected as Diack’s successor on Wednesday, had a long, shared history of fighting against doping.

As athlete representatives at the 1981 Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden Germany, he said, "we were asking for a lifelong ban for any infringement of anti-doping rules and from this time on we have always been together in this fight and in this effort to protect clean athletes".

"This is why I am not only confident, this is why I am absolutely sure the IOC and IAAF with president Seb Coe, we will work very, very closely together in a zero tolerance policy against doping," he told the news conference."We will do everything in our power to protect the clean athletes."

"Protecting the clean athletes in these circumstances also means now that we are not making allegations against athletes who enjoy the presumption of innocence."

On the recent wave of doping allegations to hit track and field, Bach said the IOC had discussed the issues with the IAAF from the moment accusations were made by German broadcaster ARD and the Sunday Times about what they claimed were suspicious blood tests taken from 800 athletes over a decade.

He voiced confidence in separate independent investigations being conducted by the IAAF and WADA and suggested the picture would become clearer once the results were known.

Coe takes the reins from Diack at the close of the world championships and has promised to establish an independent anti-doping agency – one of his manifesto pledges.

Asked if such a body might duplicate the work of WADA, Bach said the proposal would be discussed at the Olympic Summit in October in Lausanne."We always give thought to ways of improving the fight against doping in sports," he said.

Diack: Athletics Credibility Intact

The IAAF leader was in defensive mode again when grilled about doping issues that have tarnished the name of athletics.

"I do not think the credibility of our sport has been lost. There are allegations, accusations, there’s a lot of upheaval in the press," he told reporters.Outlining the IAAF’s track record in the fight against doping since he was a vice president in 1973, he said: "All those accusations we have done nothing, which is wrong.

"I think this is just sensational journalism. The credibility of our sport has not been impinged. We have done a lot of work and Seb Coe will take the relay baton."

It wasthe biggest turnout for a press conference in Beijing this week so far, with around 60 journalists attending. Doping questions dominated ahead of the expected battle for 100m gold on Sunday between defending champion Usain Bolt and twice-banned Justin Gatlin.

How would it make Bach feel to see the U.S. sprinter claim the title, and perhaps next year win Olympic gold at the Rio Olympics?

He said every athlete who had served suspensions had the right to compete in the world championships, referring to the ill-fated'Osaka Rule' which was rejected by sport's highest court.The IOC introduced the rule in 2008 barring athletes who had served a suspension of more than six months from the following Olympics. But the Court of Arbitration for Sport later ruled that it was "invalid and unenforceable".

"So the suspension is there and afterwards we have to treat these athletes in the same way like the others," Bach said.

Headmitted that he still believedin the idea of lifelong bans, but indicated it was unfeasible. "If you ask me about emotions, yes a lifetime ban I would still support," he said.

But the lessons from different lawyers and courts had shown "this is legally just not possible"."A lifelong ban would not stand any kind of challenges. So we have to accept this."

World Championships Stats

A record number of athletes – 1936 – from a record number of countries– 207 – are participating at the world championships in the Chinese capital.A total of 1683 officials are accredited along with 4,300 media. Around 2,800 volunteers have been recruited. The Aug. 22-30 competition is expected to reach a global TV audience of six billion, organizers said.

A four-month renovation of the Bird’s Nest stadium, the hub of the 2008 Olympics, has taken place with upgrades in 100 areas including Wi-Fi to cover the whole venue and installation of six large screens.

On the marketing and ticketing front, the organizing committee told a press conference Thursday that a youth education scheme was aimed at ensuring a high seat occupancy rate. The stadium capacity is capped at 50,000 as the top tier of seats is not being used. Organisers say the evening sessions are sold out, and hope for good crowds in the mornings. Many tickets have been sold for 10 yuan ($1.50).

Chinese president Xi Jinping will open the championships at a 45-minute extravaganza Saturday evening that will likely have echoes of the 2008 Olympic curtain-raiser.The flag handover between the mayors of Beijing and London, the 2017 host city, takes place at the closing ceremony on Aug. 30.

Reported in Beijing by Mark Bisson

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