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 Hajo Seppelt, 52, says he is not a crusader but is driven by a
desire to report the facts about the behind-the-scenes world of
athletics, which he believes is plagued by a conflict of interest
between promoting the sport and combating doping.
Seppelt's reporting for his latest documentary built on another
story last year, in which he made claims of systematic doping in
Russia, angering sports authorities there.
"After the first documentary was aired and there was world-wide
attention, I thought there must be a follow-up because people are
interested in knowing if the Russians have drawn some consequences,"
he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Seppelt's reporting took a new turn when a whistleblower posted him
secret data from the International Association of Athletics
Federations (IAAF), stored on a memory stick.
The data indicated suspected widespread blood doping in athletics
between 2001 and 2012 and has prompted the head of world athletics
to dismiss as "laughable" any suggestion that his organization had
been negligent in drug testing of athletes.
Working with journalists from Britain's Sunday Times newspaper,
Seppelt, from German broadcaster ARD, set about corroborating the
data and crisscrossing the world to meet sources to flesh out his
story.
He traveled to the Caucasus, Austria, Lausanne in Switzerland,
London, Monte Carlo, Prague, Australia, Kenya and the United States.
Not all the trips were worthwhile.
"TRAVELLING FOR NOTHING"
"There was a lot of traveling for nothing," said Seppelt. "You can't
use three quarters of what you are doing in investigative
journalism, but you get some good hints."
Coming only weeks before track and field's showpiece world
championships in Beijing, his report claims endurance runners
suspected of doping had been winning a third of the medals at
Olympic Games and world championships in the 2001-2012 period.
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The ARD/Sunday Times reports did not say that any athletes had
failed doping tests, only that the tests had been abnormal, which
can sometimes be a sign of cheating.
Seppelt believes there is a contradiction in athletics between the
authorities' desire to see new world records, in order to promote
the sport, and the fight against doping.
"I think the best way forward would be to take away all doping
control procedures from the federations and put them in really
independent hands," he said.
His latest report includes footage from a hidden camera purportedly
showing Kenyan athletes being injected with performance enhancing
drugs. ARD also alleged corruption among Kenyan officials who wanted
to cover up doping by the runners.
"I have nothing against Russians, I have nothing against Kenyans,"
said Seppelt, who says he has been reporting on doping stories for
almost 20 years. "I like to tell the facts as they are, and that's
it."
"But okay, this is clear: if you are attacked by people who tell you
that you are a liar, and everything I say is just invented and
fairytales, then that is motivation to tell them: 'okay, if you
don't believe me, I will present more facts.'"
(Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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