Both ARD and British newspaper The Sunday Times claim to have obtained an IAAF database containing 12,000 blood tests of around 5,000 athletes from 2001 to 2012, but athletics’ global governing body released a statement on Sunday insisting any information had been obtained illegally.
And this afternoon, the IAAF released a further statement, which clarified the situation from its point of view, claiming that the reports were “sensationalist and confusing” and did not actually prove any doping had taken place.
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“The IAAF takes the allegations published by The Sunday Times and ARD very seriously and has investigated them thoroughly,” the statement read.
“The published allegations were sensationalist and confusing: the results referred to were not positive tests. In fact, ARD and The Sunday Times both admit that their evaluation of the data did not prove doping.”
Professor Giuseppe d’Onofrio, one of the world’s leading haematologists working as an expert in the field of the Athlete Biological Passport, commented: “Ethically, I deplore public comments coming from colleagues on blood data that has been obtained and processed outside of the strict regulatory framework established by WADA which is designed to ensure a complete and fair review of ABP profiles.
“There is no space for shortcuts, simplistic approaches or sensationalism when athletes’ careers and reputations are at stake.
The results come from an IAAF database leaked to the two outlets. John Walton
John Walton
“The data on which the reports were based was not ‘secret’ - the IAAF published a detailed analysis of this data more than four years ago.”
Experts who studied the material said one third of athletics medals in endurance events at world championships and Olympics between 2001 and 2012 had given suspicious tests.
“The Sunday Times’ story is based on the allegation that six specific athletes recorded suspicious results which we did not follow up. In fact, as the newspaper was told before publication, each test led to intensive follow up, as a result of which the six athletes were subsequently caught cheating and banned,” the statement continued.
“The IAAF wants to stamp out all doping in sport and welcomes greater public debate. There is no perfect system for catching drug cheats, but the IAAF has been at the forefront of drug testing for many years.
“Under its pioneering Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system, more athletes have been banned for cheating by the IAAF than all other sports federations and national anti-doping agencies put together.”
In a statement released on Sunday, Athletics Ireland said it was ‘deeply concerned’ about the allegations and urged the IAAF to act immediately.
Athletics' governing body hits back at 'sensationalist' Sunday Times doping allegations
THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has “strongly rejected” accusations of widespread doping.
A documentary, titled ‘Doping - Top Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics’, was released by German broadcaster ARD on Saturday.
Both ARD and British newspaper The Sunday Times claim to have obtained an IAAF database containing 12,000 blood tests of around 5,000 athletes from 2001 to 2012, but athletics’ global governing body released a statement on Sunday insisting any information had been obtained illegally.
And this afternoon, the IAAF released a further statement, which clarified the situation from its point of view, claiming that the reports were “sensationalist and confusing” and did not actually prove any doping had taken place.
“The IAAF takes the allegations published by The Sunday Times and ARD very seriously and has investigated them thoroughly,” the statement read.
Professor Giuseppe d’Onofrio, one of the world’s leading haematologists working as an expert in the field of the Athlete Biological Passport, commented: “Ethically, I deplore public comments coming from colleagues on blood data that has been obtained and processed outside of the strict regulatory framework established by WADA which is designed to ensure a complete and fair review of ABP profiles.
“There is no space for shortcuts, simplistic approaches or sensationalism when athletes’ careers and reputations are at stake.
“The data on which the reports were based was not ‘secret’ - the IAAF published a detailed analysis of this data more than four years ago.”
Experts who studied the material said one third of athletics medals in endurance events at world championships and Olympics between 2001 and 2012 had given suspicious tests.
“The Sunday Times’ story is based on the allegation that six specific athletes recorded suspicious results which we did not follow up. In fact, as the newspaper was told before publication, each test led to intensive follow up, as a result of which the six athletes were subsequently caught cheating and banned,” the statement continued.
“Under its pioneering Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) system, more athletes have been banned for cheating by the IAAF than all other sports federations and national anti-doping agencies put together.”
In a statement released on Sunday, Athletics Ireland said it was ‘deeply concerned’ about the allegations and urged the IAAF to act immediately.
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