IAAF denies negligence amid doping scandal

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack said Monday that any suggestion his organization had been too lax in its approach to drug testing athletes was "laughable."

His comments follow reports carried by German broadcaster ARD and Britain's "The Sunday Times" newspaper over the weekend that one-third of athletes who had won medals in track-and-field events at the Olympics and world championships had recorded suspicious blood tests.

The two media outlets said they had gained access to confidential IAAF files containing the results of 12,000 doping tests taken from 5,000 athletes over an 11-year period.

"There are allegations made, no evidence," Diack told Reuters. "We want to look into them seriously because to say that in athletics between 2001 and 2012 we did not do a serious job with tests is laughable."

Abnormal blood tests in themselves are not proof of doping, although they can be a sign of cheating. For example, they may point to measures to improve the ability of blood to carry oxygen, giving athletes an advantage in endurance events like long and medium-distance cycling or running.

The reports come just a few weeks before a new IAAF president will be elected, and before the Athletics World Championships in Beijing. The association is yet to offer a detailed response to the claims, although Diack warned Monday that the reports were part of a campaign to redistribute medals.

"I laughed when I read between 2001 and 2012 the IAAF did not do the work," he said.

'Zero tolerance'

Athletics bodies around the world have called for the accusations to be properly investigated. That responsibility has been taken up by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is already busy looking into previous claims of doping in Russian athletics aired by ARD in December 2014.

Athletics Australia President Phil Jones welcomed the WADA probe, while US anti-doping agency head Travis Tygart said an "aggressive review" was needed to protect clean athletes.

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, told reporters on Monday that there would be "zero tolerance" if any cases emerged of doping at an Olympic Games event.

"But at this time we have nothing more than allegations and we have to respect the presumption of innocence for the athletes," he said.

IAAF 'sat idly by'

ARD and "The Sunday Times" gave the blood tests from the IAAF database to doping experts Michael Ashenden and Robin Parisotto to review. The scientists concluded that more than 800 athletes registered blood values that are considered suspicious by WADA standards between 2001 and 2012. Those abnormal results accounted for 146 medals at top events - including 55 golds - at the Olympics and world championships.

Russia had the largest number of abnormal tests, followed by Ukraine, Morocco, Spain and Kenya.

"Never have I seen such an alarmingly abnormal set of blood values," Parisotto said. "So many athletes appear to have doped with impunity, and it is damning that the IAAF appears to have sat idly by and let this happen."

nm/sms (Reuters, AFP, AP)