International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president, Sebastian Coe, asked for the creation of an integrity unit on Friday (16 October), in a bid to seek greater independence for anti-doping operations.
I have also asked for the creation of an integrity unit in athletics and that is not just about anti-doping – that is also to address some of the issues that we will, as a sport, be addressing and have already started to address, Lord Coe told the annual European Athletics Convention in Lausanne.
The twice-Olympic 1500m champion was elected in August to head the IAAF, which has been accused of going soft on doping after thousands of blood test data results were leaked to the media.
The allegations, made by German broadcaster ARD and the UKs Sunday Times newspaper, shook the world of athletics, with the IAAF coming under fire for allegedly not following up suspicious results from more than 800 athletes between 2001 and 2012.
I do want a system that is more independent, that relieves the members federations from some of the pressure, some of the resource implications, some of the challenges of a legalistic nature. That will actually mean broadening the testing poll internationally and reducing your international commitments, but allowing you to focus on what you do extremely well, which is national testing programmes and educational programmes, Coe said.
It will mean a swifter management around our results. It will mean a swifter – I hope – period between testing and sanctioning, and I hope it will release some of those precious resources, that I know you find challenging sometimes when youre dealing with those legal challenges, he said.
Coe added that in total 10 commissions will be created, including a Value Commission, an International Relations and Public Affairs Commission, an Audit Commission and a new Commission on Youth and Engagement. Last week Coe said athletics has been at the vanguard in the fight against doping and promised to rid the sport of the menace.
