(ATR) The International Biathlon Union is to overhaul its administration in the wake of the doping cover-up scandal.
The IBU executive board met on Monday in Saalfelden, Austria and agreed a plan "to restructure the administration and address various personnel issues".
Olle Dahlin, an IBU vice-president, tells Around the Rings that "changes in our organization" are important in the fallout from the doping cover-up scandal. He declined to give further details or on the "persons involved".
"We have to make it the right way," he said, describing the restructure as a "total review of the organisation for the future".
"That has also been on the table before this special thing happened. Now it’s a good time to do this."
The decision comes days after the IOC’s ruling body discussed the Austrian investigation into allegations of bribery and criminal wrongdoing involving IBU president Anders Besseberg and secretary general Nicole Resch which are linked to doping cases involving Russian athletes.
The IOC’s chief ethics and compliance officer Pâquerette Girard Zappelli is said to be in touch with WADA. A WADA tip-off led to the Austrian prosecutors raiding the IBU’s headquarters in Salzburg last month.
Besseberg and Resch have stepped aside pending the outcome of the Austrian prosecutors’ investigation.
Asked if the IOC had encouraged the IBU to consider a change of leadership or a shake-up of the organization, Dahlin said: "No, this is internal decisions we have.
"The timing here is also to bring confidence in the IBU."
He said the IBU Congress convening in September "has to decide upon the leadership of the IBU".
The biathlon federation said the reorganization would happen over the next two months.
Upon the request of the IBU, the Institute of National Anti-doping Organizations (iNADO) will conduct an external audit of the federation’s anti-doping program.
"The IBU will receive the report prior to the congress and will make public the results of the audit," the federation said in a statement.
The eight members of the IBU’s executive board this week received a status report from its anti-doping working group of external experts. The taskforce will continue to review the reports provided by WADA and "prepare appropriate measures", with an update due to the IBU’s governing board meeting June 1-3.
The IBU also said it is in discussions with the International Testing Agency to improve its anti-doping controls. When it becomes fully operational next month, the agency will be responsible for developing with each IF an international test distribution plan by sport and by discipline.
The IBU Congress takes place in Porec, Croatia from Sept. 5-10.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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