Dubai: There is no guarantee that Russian athletes can make a comeback to mainstream sport in time to be able to compete in the Rio Summer Olympics, according to Lord Sebastian Coe, the beleaguered president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The world governing body of athletics had banned the sporting superpower following damning revelations by the independent probe panel headed by former WADA president Dick Pound late last year.
“I don’t know if they can be back in time for Rio,” Coe told Gulf News during an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon where he was the chief guest. “Frankly speaking, I don’t have a time-frame for this. Soon after banning Russia from athletics, we have created an independent five-member task force which is working with the new Russian federation and the panel is being headed by Rune Andersen, the noted anti-doping expert from Norway.
“When Andersen and his team are satisfied with the changes being implemented in the operations of the sport in Russia, the IAAF will review to ensure that clean athletes can come out of Russia and then only we can take a decision,” said Lord Coe, the middle distance legend and gold medal winning Olympian, who has worn many a hat in sports administration over the last decade.
Sporting a navy blue jacket and an easy demeanour, Lord Coe looked somewhat relaxed in a vibrant sporting environment against the backdrop of runners filing by and the colourful, cheering crowd which thronged the finish point at Umm Suqeim Road. The last three months or so had seen what he called his “dream job” turn into a nightmare with skeletons coming out of the cupboard of athletics one after the other – reports of systematic substance abuse in Russia, Kenya; strong charges of corruption by Coe’s predecessor Lamine Diack and family, not to speak of charges of conflict of interest against the man himself thanks to his association as brand ambassador of Nike.
The second instalment of Pound’s report, which reposed faith on Lord Coe’s abilities to turn the sport around, has certainly come as a welcome breather for him. “I am grateful to Mr Pound for his observation…I have a big responsibility ahead of me,” he said.
While the presence of Lord Coe in his new avatar as the IAAF boss has helped this edition of the marathon score major brownie points, the IAAF president admitted it felt refreshing to be in the middle of some real action once again. “It feels nice as the Dubai Marathon is the opening event of the season and has been a good marathon. I love being in an athletic environment as always. At the end of the day, the sport is about elite performance as it’s also about participation,” he said.
Once back in the IAAF headquarters in Monaco, Lord Coe and his team will have their hands full – going full steam with the so-called reforms that he has laid his hands on. “There is a roadmap that I have put in place after Christmas and the next six months will identify the time-frame for these changes.
“It will incorporate corporate governance, re-writing the contribution of the federation as well as the introduction of an integrity unit.
“The unit will not only handle issues of doping, but age-manipulation, transfer of allegiance, betting and other ethical challenges that our sport confronts at the moment. I will be giving a progress report on the action plan before the council in March,” he said.
“The big change I will make towards anti-doping measures is to set up an independent tribunal for making judgement about doping sanctions - free of member associations’ influence. The panel will have former athletes, coaches and doping experts along with a chair and free of member federations’ interference,” he added.
