The IAAF said that "allegations of widespread doping in elite athletics are 'unscientific' and based on 'pure guesswork,'" according to Malcolm Moore of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The IAAF "issued a nine-page rebuttal of claims by the German broadcaster ARD and the British Sunday Times newspaper that 146 medals at the Olympics and the World Championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by athletes with suspicious blood test results." The allegations "were based on an analysis of an IAAF database of 12,000 blood test results from 5,000 athletes by two leading anti-doping scientists, Robin Parisotto and Michael Ashenden."
The IAAF said it "categorically refutes all allegations, specifically that it failed in its duty to pursue an effective blood testing programme at all times."
It said that "it had conducted the world’s most 'comprehensive and universal' blood testing programme, carrying out more than 19,000 tests since 2001" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 8/4). REUTERS' Julian Linden reported the IAAF "condemned the publication of what it said was private and confidential data obtained without their consent." Professor Giuseppe d'Onofrio, described as one of the world's leading haematologists working as an expert in the field of the Athlete Biological Passport, said, "There is no space for shortcuts, simplistic approaches or sensationalism when athletes’ careers and reputations are at stake." In addressing some of the accusations, the IAAF said that the results "were not secret and had been published by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) four years ago."
The IAAF also said that "it investigated all of the results and at least six athletes who were found to have cheated, were suspended" (REUTERS, 8/4). In London, Ben Bloom wrote Jonathan Edwards and Jo Pavey "have added their names to a list of high-profile British athletes" publicly questioning whether the IAAF "was complicit in hiding hundreds of suspicious blood samples." Olympic triple jump champion and world record holder Edwards said that "the most concerning thing about the entire episode was the behaviour of the IAAF." He said, "The key thing for me is not who the athletes were or who missed out on a medal. It’s what on earth were the authorities doing?" (TELEGRAPH, 8/3).
DOPING MONEY AT HEART: REUTERS' Steve Keating reported Victor Conte, the man at the center of what was the U.S.'s biggest doping scandal, "believes the latest drug scandal to rock the sports world is all part of a coverup to
protect the bottom line." Conte, who ran a Bay Area laboratory called BALCO on the outskirts of San Francisco that became the epicenter of a "massive doping scandal" in the early '00s, said that "the reports show a lack of genuine interest by world sport's anti-doping chiefs to catch cheaters and smacks of a coverup to protect financial interests." Conte: "There is a financial conflict of interest. These tests are bad for business. Many, many, many positive drug tests over the years, I personally know about, have been covered up. The reason is ... it is bad business" (REUTERS, 8/3).
RUSSIA WON'T ACT: REUTERS' Rogovitskiy & Baczynska reported Russia's Athletic Federation Head Vadim Zelichenok said that the organization "will not act on allegations of widespread doping among its sports stars before the world athletics championships in Beijing later this month."
Russia "accounted for majority of abnormal readings in an investigation." Zelichenok: "We will not take any action before the World Championships, which start in Beijing on Aug. 22. We physically won't be able to do anything before then. The reputation of the IAAF is at stake and we are a member of this organization. We will see what they do and it is possible we could go down the same route." Speaking to the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily on Monday, a former Russian anti-doping official said that the publication "was an attempt to tarnish Russia's 'bright national image'" ahead of the 2018 World Cup. Nikolay Durmanov: "One thing is clear. The Germans have developed a new type of sport - hunting Russian sportsmen. A safari, the hell with them" (REUTERS, 8/3).
