IAAF President Sebastian Coe is "promising nothing is off the table as he tries to rebuild the savaged sport," according to Steve Keating of REUTERS. With his sport "battered by doping scandals, and deserted by fans and sponsors, there has been no honeymoon period for Coe." Overseeing his first major IAAF event, Coe freed Portland organizers to "experiment with the format, the meet taking on a rock show vibe as athletes emerged from a tunnel for introductions to flashing lights and billows of smoke while thumping music provided the background sound track for the entire meet." All the "cosmetic changes in the world, however, will not save a sport teetering on a rotten foundation." But Coe is also "promising major renovations from the ground up to rebuild trust among athletes, fans and sponsors by introducing new doping guidelines, a coordinated calendar, an emphasis on social media and plenty of razzmatazz to pull in the younger fans every sport covets." Coe said, "It has been character forming. Actually the one thing I am really comforted by is that there is a real appetite for change" (REUTERS, 3/21).
MELDONIUM: REUTERS' Stubbs & Rogovitskiy reported Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) Head Dmitry Shlyakhtin said that four Russian track-and-field athletes have tested positive for the banned drug meldonium, a disclosure which "could further damage Moscow's efforts to overturn a doping ban in time for the Rio Olympics." Shlyakhtin said, "We have information that four people gave positive test for meldonium. We will deal with this today." The scandal will "complicate Russia's campaign to prove it is compliant with anti-doping standards after being suspended from international competition last year following revelations of widespread cheating and corruption." If it cannot get the suspension lifted, Russian athletes "will miss the Olympics" Rio de Janeiro (REUTERS, 3/21).
