Report into doping & corruption in athletics to be published
The IAAF is set to learn the findings of an independent report into
claims of doping cover-ups, extortion and money-laundering in athletics.
An independent commission, set up by the World Anti-Doping Agency, will publish its findings later on Monday.
Co-author Richard McLaren has already said his report will reveal "a whole different scale of corruption", even compared to Fifa.
IAAF president Lord Coe has admitted these are "dark days for the sport".
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek, Coe added: "The day after I got elected, I started a massive review. Understandably, in the light of the allegations that have been made, that review has been accelerated.
"I'm more determined than ever to rebuild the trust in our sport. However, this is a long road to redemption."
What did Coe know?
Lamine Diack, 82, the ex-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, is under investigation on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.Coe was vice-president of the IAAF for eight of the 16 years that Diack was in charge.
Analysis - BBC sports editor Dan Roan |
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After several days of silence, Coe's fightback on behalf of
the sport he was elected to lead just three months ago has begun not a
moment too soon. |
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He has been criticised for previously calling media
investigations into allegations of doping a "declaration of war", and
for referring to the man he replaced, Lamine Diack as the sport's
"spiritual" leader. |
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He has also refused to end his ambassadorial role with Nike,
despite claims this amounts to a conflict of interest. Coe knows he
must now be seen to live up to the pledge he made during his
presidential election campaign and somehow rebuild trust in athletics
after a year of horribly damaging headlines. |
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But with Wada preparing to reveal the results of their long
investigation into athletics on Monday, the former middle-distance
champion knows things are about to get even worse before they can get
better. |
He added: "That was the first that I had heard of them and that is almost certainly the case for everyone in the sport."
At the time of his election, double Olympic 1500m champion Coe had described Diack as the IAAF's "spiritual" leader but accepted on Sunday that he is "going to come in for criticism for those remarks".
However, he said: "It does presume I had a list of allegations in front of me at that moment, and I didn't.
A change of culture
When asked if countries who persistently produce athletes who dope should be thrown out of the sport, Coe said: "I have never said never but my instinct is engagement rather than isolation."We need a generation of coaches and athletes to believe that it is possible to reach the pinnacle of sport with integrity and as clean athletes.
Timeline: Athletics doping accusations |
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December 2014: German documentary alleges Russian doping scandal |
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February 2015: Diack says athletics faces 'crisis' |
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August 2015: Coe says IAAF will react robustly |
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August 2015: Wada 'alarmed' by fresh allegations |
"We have to make sure clean athletes know that we are in their corner and I will do everything I possibly can to make sure we rebuild trust in this sport.
"My task is to build a sport that will be accountable, responsible and responsive, but it will take time."
Will athletics ever be clean?
"No," was Coe's straightforward answer. "The practicality is there will always be a few people who try to step beyond the moral boundaries."It is our responsibility to make sure right systems are in place and the right people to uphold these systems."
He also reiterated that he would "absolutely" like to see athletes found guilty of doping receive life bans but added that despite "legal brains addressing the subject time and time again, we have failed to win that argument".
The others facing charges
Diack's son, Papa Massata Diack, is among four men charged by the body over ethics code breaches.Papa Diack is a former consultant to the IAAF. The other three are: the former head of the IAAF anti-doping department Gabriel Dolle, the former president of the All-Russia Athletic Federation (ARAF) Valentin Balakhnichev and Alexei Melnikov, a former chief ARAF coach for long distance walkers and runners.
"That people in our sport have allegedly extorted money from athletes guilty of doping violations is abhorrent," said Coe in an earlier statement sent to Reuters and Britain's Sunday Times newspaper.
When the Sunday Times first broke the story of allegations of widespread doping in athletics in August, Coe described it as a "declaration of war" - a remark which he has been called to explain to a Parliament select committee later this month.
The 59-year-old also said it was time to "come out fighting" to protect the sport's reputation and added: "there is nothing in our history of competence and integrity in drug testing that warrants this kind of attack".
Despite his election, Coe still remains as an ambassador for sportswear company Nike and has said he does not believe there is a conflict of interest with the two roles.
He also publicly backed Alberto Salazar, coach of Britain's Olympic champion Mo Farah, who is also head of the Nike Oregon Project and remains the subject of a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation.
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