Internal documents show that six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field's governing body knew of doping "so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from abuse of blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials considered collaborating with Russians to hide the full extent of the cheating before the 2012 London Olympics," according to John Leicester of the AP. When the "massive scandal of state-sponsored doping and cover-ups in Russia finally erupted with full force" in '15, IAAF leaders acted "as though blindsided." IAAF President Sebastian Coe said, "This has been a shameful wake-up call." But in '09, as a "sophisticated new blood-testing program was launched," IAAF tests were "already providing shocking insight into the scale and gravity of Russian doping, according to a six-year span of emails, letters and reports" the AP received from a person "intimately involved in the workings of the IAAF's anti-doping program." At that stage, the test results were not "enough on their own to sanction athletes, but they provided an early warning of the crisis" and raise questions about why the organization entrusted with the safekeeping of one of the world's major sports "waited six years before suspending Russia, which could see its athletes miss the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August." Then-IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss wrote in an Oct. 14, 2009 letter to then-Russian athletics president Valentin Balakhnichev, "This matter of the Russian athletes' blood levels is now so serious and is not getting any better (in fact possibly getting worse) that immediate and drastic action is needed. Not only are these athletes cheating their fellow competitors but at these levels are putting their health and even their own lives in very serious danger." The documents reveal how the IAAF "wrestled with Russia -- nudging and cajoling its leaders to act, but also using scientific advances in blood testing to try to catch offenders." The IAAF confirmed that the letters "were genuine." IAAF spokesperson Chris Turner said they were a "clear, open warning" to Russia and insisted the IAAF has been "very strong" in dealing with the sports powerhouse (AP, 1/12).
INSUFFICIENT TESTING: In London, Ron Lewis reported before the 2009 world championships, Weiss also alerted Balakhnichev that athletes were "evading tests by saying they were serving in the Russian military" and could not tell testers where they were. Weiss: "These difficulties ... effectively prevent the IAAF from conducting sufficient testing on Russian elite athletes compared to other major nations" (LONDON TIMES, 1/13).
PRESSURE'S ON: In London, Owen Gibson reported the latest revelations will "only increase the pressure" on Coe before former World Anti-Doping Agency President Dick Pound "unveils the second part of his report into systemic doping in Russia and related corruption at the IAAF on Thursday." The source that leaked the documents believed they show "some anti-doping officials did their best to do all they could to keep Russian cheats from competing." But they also show that many senior IAAF officials "knew there was a major problem for at least six years and spent much of that time trying to cajole Russia into doing something about it." By '11, two years after its launch, the IAAF’s "blood passport" testing regime was "starting to flag so many suspected Russian dopers that officials explored the idea of breaking their own rules" and those of WADA by dealing with some cases privately (GUARDIAN, 1/12).
ALLEGATIONS 'MOST CONCERNING': REUTERS' Davis & Phillips reported in response to questions about the AP report, the IAAF said that the letters "did not show any evidence of wrong-doing and that it followed correct procedures in all the cases." It said athletes were investigated and "either sanctioned or are involved in a legal process as part of being sanctioned." A WADA spokesperson on Wednesday said the suggestions in the AP story, if accurate, were "most concerning." The spokesperson said, "If this is new information that WADA's independent commission has not already examined, it will need to be investigated" (REUTERS, 1/12). The BBC reported IAAF spokesperson Chris Turner said, "No cases were concealed or suppressed. The IAAF simply tackled them in order of importance." Turner said every athlete was investigated and the IAAF has "successfully brought 33 blood passport cases against Russian athletes," with "more pending" (BBC, 1/12).
COE SPEAKS OUT: The PA reported Coe has insisted "he does not underestimate the seriousness of the doping and corruption crisis engulfing athletics’ world governing body," and says he is confident "no allegations will emerge which directly implicate him in wrongdoing." The IAAF is braced for "further blows to its credibility" on Thursday when the second part of the WADA report into Russian doping is revealed. Coe said, "One of the accusations is that I don’t sort of get the seriousness of this issue -- I do. I’m dealing with it every day and I have been dealing with this since effectively the first day I took over the role as president." Meanwhile, Coe’s "right-hand man" at the IAAF, Nick Davies, has "stepped aside from his role as the director of the president’s office while he is investigated by the IAAF’s ethics commission." Davies faces allegations of unethical behavior after the French newspaper Le Monde obtained a copy of an email sent by him in which he "appears to discuss delaying the identification of Russian drug cheats in the run-up to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow." He "denies any wrongdoing" (PA, 1/13).
CLEANING HOUSE: In London, Rick Broadbent wrote former Interpol President Bjorn Eriksson questions whether Coe and the IAAF "can move on from the corruption scandal without a major clear-out of personnel." Eriksson said, “There are a lot of promises being made but what matters is action. I am still waiting for the action.” Eriksson was Swedish athletics assocition president when the IAAF ignored Gothenburg’s bid and gave the '21 world championships to Eugene, Ore. He said that decision “smells.” Eriksson: “I would also like to know the outcome of the police investigation before I start saying things are improving” (LONDON TIMES, 1/14).
