|
 The Associated Press published a copy of a letter from Pierre Weiss,
then the general secretary of the International Association of
Athletics Federations (IAAF), to Valentin Balakhnichev, the former
Russian athletics president who was banned from the sport for life
last week.
In the letter, dated Oct. 14, 2009, Weiss described the results of
blood tests taken at that year's world championships in Berlin and
the world half-marathon championships in Birmingham, England.
"Unfortunately I do not have good news regarding the blood parameter
levels of the Russian athletes in Berlin. Again they were extremely
high, and again much more so than any other country competing,"
Weiss wrote.
Referring to the blood levels of Russian athletes in Birmingham,
Weiss said two athletes "recorded some of the highest values ever
seen since the IAAF started testing".
"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."
In response to questions about the AP report, the IAAF told Reuters
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.
Abnormal blood levels are not in themselves enough for an athlete to
be punished for an anti-doping offence but are widely held to be an
indicator of possible performance-enhancing drug use.
Athletics was plunged into crisis at the end of last year after an
initial report by the independent commission of the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detailed systematic, state-sponsored
doping and related corruption in Russia.
In the wake of the report, Russian athletes were banned indefinitely
by the IAAF.
Weiss told Balakhnichev that the results from Berlin strongly
suggested "a systematic abuse of blood doping or EPO-related
products", the AP said.
He added that if there had been "no start" rules at the world
championships for athletes with abnormal blood readings, seven
Russian competitors and two gold medallists would have been
prevented from competing.
[to top of second column] |
Internal IAAF notes, copies of which were reproduced in the story,
also proposed a two-track approach to punishing Russian dopers.
One leaked document from 2011 said there would be by-the-book
sanctions for the best-known elite athletes likely to win medals at
the London Games
The note also said there would be "rapid and discreet" handling of
second-tier cases, working "in close collaboration" with the Russian
athletics federation, for less well-known athletes whose sudden and
unexplained disappearance from competition would likely pass
unnoticed.
The IAAF responded to the AP report by saying that every suspicious
Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) profile was investigated in full
and that nothing was covered-up.
"In 2011, there was a huge influx of suspicious profiles coming
through the ABP," the IAAF told Reuters in a statement on Tuesday,
adding that as each case can take up to 18 months to process there
was a need to expedite those cases which involved potential medal
winners ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
"No cases were concealed or suppressed, the IAAF simply tackled them
in order of importance.
"Every athlete was investigated and has either been sanctioned or is
currently going through a legal process as part of being
sanctioned."
(This story was refiled to clarify the source of documents)
(Reporting by Toby Davis/Mitch Phillips; Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
