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IAAF RESPONSE LETTER TO THE WOMEN’S SPORTS FOUNDATION AND ATHLETE ALLY

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The IAAF has today responded to an open letter from the Women’s Sports Foundation and Athlete Ally, which requested that the IAAF rescind the new eligibility regulations for the female classification, due to come into effect on November 1, 2018.

IAAF RESPONSE TO OPEN LETTER

The IAAF has not and will never try to prevent women from participating in athletics.

In fact, the IAAF has been one of the foremost advocates for women’s sport for almost a century. It has long championed equal access to competition and equal prize money at a time when many other sports still discriminate in this area.

Contrary to claims made in an open letter written by the US-based Women’s Sports Foundation, the IAAF’s new female classification rule does not seek to prevent any woman from competing in athletics.

Under the Regulations, women with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD/intersex) will be eligible to compete in any event at domestic level. They will be eligible to compete in all but distances from 400m up to 1 mile on the international championship programme.  They will also be eligible to compete in those distances if they take measures to ensure their testosterone levels are under 5nmol/L (which puts them on an even playing field with the rest of the female population).  They will be eligible to compete in male and intersex competition. The choice is theirs.

The IAAF seeks only to maintain a fair and meaningful category for women to compete in athletics. It makes no judgment about gender or sexual identity.  It has only acted upon the scientific evidence established by esteemed scientists around the world, which shows that i) there is correlation between testosterone and performance in at least certain specific athletic events, ii) women who produce testosterone in the normal male range, and are androgen-sensitive, thereby enjoy a substantial physical advantage over women who produce testosterone in the normal female range.

The women’s category of sport is by nature a restricted category. Without limits, it would cease to exist and it is the responsibility of the sport’s governing body to establish those limits.

In the same way, under 20 competition is restricted to those athletes who are under 20, because those who are over 20 have a natural biological advantage over younger athletes who are still developing into adults.

Sports that have weight divisions to establish fair competition also impose limits that require some athletes, male and female, to change their body composition in order to abide by the rules of that event.

This rule has been established under the same principles that have governed fair competition in sport throughout its history.

The IAAF has been a leading supporter of women in sport for most of its long history and will continue to be.

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Athletes unite behind Caster Semenya as end game looms

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Caster Semenya was a divisive gold medallist at London 2012. As the city prepares to host the Anniversary Games this weekend, new rules for hyperandrogenic athletes are pushing her out of the sport.

Caster Semenya should be celebrated for her gifts, not punished, one of Britain’s most respected athletes has said on the eve of the London leg of the Diamond League season.

The woman who monopolises the middle distances won her first Olympic gold medal in Stratford six years ago. She has become a far more popular and accepted athlete since then. Semenya is missing the London Anniversary Games to compete in Monaco and her teammates – and many of her rivals – fear controversial new rules will see her exit the sport after next month’s Diamond League finals.

Ignorance over the non-binary nature of gender saw Semenya widely held up as an unsympathetic cheat back in 2012. The IAAF governing body is this year resurrecting efforts to legislate against intersex athletes receiving a perceived advantage. Their roadmap threatens to disproportionately impact the 27-year-old and a bubbling victimisation backlash is coming to a head.

From 1 November, female track athletes with elevated levels of testosterone participating in events Semenya typically features in will be required to take medication to reduce levels of the hormone. Athletes who refuse will be shut out of competing in a thin band of events ranging from 400 metres to the mile in international meets under the new IAAF rules.

Semenya’s condition is called hyperandrogenism. “It’s tough for a lot of women in the 800m, 400m and 1500m at the moment to compare ourselves,” Australian rival Brittany McGowan said earlier this year. McGowan lost on home soil to Semenya at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Team England was captained Down Under by Anyika Onuora, who has experienced more than once what it feels like to trail in Semenya’s wake. However, she has come out calling for Semenya’s attributes to be acknowledged rather than sanctioned by the IAAF, who bring the Diamond League to London this weekend.

“I speak to her on a regular basis on the circuit,” Onuora told The Independent. “The first thing I always say is, ‘you better be on the start list for the 400 metres’. If you’re her rival, you could say, ‘she’s gaining an advantage’, but that’s probably coming from your selfish needs, as opposed to looking at someone who’s just phenomenal and it’s not her fault.”

Semenya is most famous for exploits across 800 and 1,500 metres but she runs a handful of races across 400m, Onuora’s event, most seasons. “I think it’s great that there’s someone like her who can kick a lot of ass in the 400 but also kill the 800 and kill the 1500 too. There’s no denying that she has an immense amount of talent and I personally don’t think she should be punished for it. If it happens in the near future it would be a shame and I personally wouldn’t agree with it.”

(REUTERS)

Eyebrows have been raised at the study the IAAF are citing to support the introduction of new regulations. Testosterone was said to make a significant difference in five events, the research found. Bigger differences were recorded in the hammer throw (4.53 per cent) and pole vault (2.94 per cent) than the 400m (2.73 per cent) and 800m (1.78 per cent). Neither hammer throwers nor vaulters are going to be subject to the new regulations. Meanwhile the 1500m, for which there was no effect, will require hyperandrogenic athletes to self-medicate along with those who want to compete in the mile, which wasn’t even assessed as part of the study.

The study has been scrutinised by the athletics community since the new rules were proposed in April. Raised eyebrows extended to disillusionment in South Africa, where there are fears Semenya will quit if her appeal fails. The Court of Arbitration in Sport will deliver their verdict in the autumn. “We are all waiting to see how it turns out at the end of the season,” teammate Wenda Nel told The Independent. “I’m curious to see what will happen in that regard, if she will continue or stop the sport. She has shown anyone who might be in the same situation that no matter what, until they lock you in jail and you physically can’t get out, do what you love and do it to the full. I think that’s a great example. The support in the country is right behind her.”

Another teammate, Margo Chene Pretorius, feels Semenya has been victimised and that the alleged advantages intersex athletes enjoy has not been proven. “Having done [scientific] research myself, I know it’s not valid if it’s based on one study only. They [hyperandrogenic athletes] work just as hard as we do. It’s not that they’re doing less. You cannot just depend on your genetic deviations. You have to work for what you want. It feels biased. If they did more studies, then [the IAAF] would have a foot to stand on.”

The African National Congress, South Africa’s governing party, has accused authorities of displaying “blatant racism” through their plans to regulate middle distance athletes exhibiting high testosterone while ignoring the issue in the events that their referenced study has shown it to confer the most advantage.

(AP)

US national hammer throw champion Deanna Price says she would be happy for the rules to be extended to her event to give them credibility. “They can test me for anything,” she said. “And if the tests found my testosterone level was giving me an advantage, I’d be happy to take the medication to lower it.”

Pole vaulter Katie Nageotte, who also represents America, disagrees. “The pole vault is a very fair playing field at the moment, very clean, and I don’t know what bringing [new rules] in would do to that dynamic.”

The IAAF says it is not passing judgment on people’s sex or gender, but says it reserves the right to organise events in men’s and women’s disciplines only. “Having levels of circulating testosterone in the normal male range and being androgen-sensitive gives a performance advantage of at least five or six per cent,” it argues.

Semenya – who endured an eleven month exile from the sport to undergo gender tests as a teenager – has recently remarked: “As a middle-distance runner, I have done enough for my collection.” You can read that as a statement of triumph or a statement of defeat. But you can only go round in circles for so long, on or off the track.

independent.co.uk

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Kiprop and Yego Face IAAF Jury over Doping

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Three-time world champion and former Olympic winner Asbel Kiprop and 2009 World Youth gold medalist Hillary Kipsang Yego are Kenyans whose career are on the line as they face disciplinary proceedings by the IAAF Athletics Integrity Unit.

Kiprop and Yego are the two Kenyan targets of the IAAF AIU Unit which began disciplinary proceedings on July 20th, on 120 athletes whose tests found presence of prohibited substance EPO.

Kiprop who won gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, was tested on November

27, 2017 in in the North Rift town of Iten in Kenya, tested positive for EPO in out of competition testing.

The 28-year-old Kenyan alleged his sample “turned positive” because he did not give the testers enough money as inducement to give him a clean bill of health.

In May this year, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) dismissed claims that his sample was tampered with and that officials sent to test him had asked him for cash.

The other Kenyan facing disciplinary proceedings is Yego, who was the victor in 2009 World Youth Athletics Championships in the men’s 2000m steeplechase hosted at  Brixen-Bressanone Sport Arena in Brixen, Italy, where Kenya emerged as the overall winners.

The 30-year-old Yego, whose CV includes a victory at the 2013 Athens Marathon and 2017 New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.

 

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Sebastian Coe says doping revelations are an ’embarrassment’ for athletics

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Lord Coe admits the news that 109 athletes and coaches are facing disciplinary action for alleged doping is embarrassing but he welcomes the transparency in the matter.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced the news on Friday, with Olympic steeplechase champion and world record-holder Ruth Jebet among those included on the first list of provisional suspensions.

Of the 109 cases, the AIU said they relate to 103 ‘elite-level international athletes’ who have won 85 Olympic and world championship medals between them.

Set up last year as a response to the sport’s corruption and doping crisis, the AIU has now committed to a new public disclosure policy, which means the basic details of any disciplinary action it takes will be revealed online and via Twitter, with updates as each case proceeds.

Previously, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and more recently the AIU, only disclosed cases when the entire process, including any appeal, was over.

However, from now on the AIU will publish the details of a case as it moves through five key phases: provisional suspension, cases pending a first disciplinary hearing, first hearing decision, appeals and finally appeal decisions.

Responding to the figures, IAAF president Coe told BBC 5 Live’s Sportsweek programme: ‘It’s too many. But let’s be clear, under the old system you wouldn’t be asking that question. We wouldn’t know the number, we wouldn’t know where we were in that process.

So it’s good that we are transparent about the challenge, we are not skirting the challenge. I’d rather face the embarrassment of facing the question than the genteel decline and obfuscation of the sport.

‘We’ve covered a lot of ground and I am delighted with the work the AIU has undertaken. They have gone for top athletes. These are serious offences.

‘We had a very good example of how long this process can take when we celebrated the reallocation of the 4 x 400m medalists from the Beijing (Olympic) Games just at the Anniversary Games in London yesterday – that’s taken eight years.

‘So it’s transparent and we absolutely believe it’s a credit to the work that’s gone into the integrity unit and we are leading the way on this.

‘It’s important to separate the clean athletes from a tainted system. We are absolutely clear the major burden of the challenge is to protect the clean athletes.

‘Not just to weed out the cheats but to protect those young athletes who devote half their young lives to the sport in a landscape where they know we will be on their side.’

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Thirty Russian athletes to compete in European championships

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Thirty Russian track and field athletes will take part in the European Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Berlin in August 2018, the press service of the Russian Athletics Federation reported.

It noted that the number of Russian athletes represented at the tournament could grow, if their bid to compete as neutral athletes is approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

“Athletes’ bid to take part in the European championships expires on July 30. The team of Russian track and field athletes can increase provided that Russian athletes who have not yet been allowed to take part in international competitions in neutral status get this permission from the International Association of Athletics Federations,” the press service said.

In December 2016, the IAAF decided to allow Russian track and field athletes who meet the organization’s criteria to take part in international events as neutral athletes during the suspension of the Russian Athletics Federation.

The European Championships in Berlin will be held on August 6-12.

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IAAF reinstates athletes’ transfers

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World governing body also announces updates on the Russian federation’s suspension and new anti-doping regulations.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has reinstated its transfer of allegiance process under new rules, with immediate effect, president Seb Coe announced on Friday.

The process had been frozen since last February, when Coe described the rules in force at that time as “no longer fit for purpose” and “open to abuse”.

The new rules include a number of key principles approved by the IAAF Council in March:

– a minimum three-year waiting period before an athlete may transfer to represent another member federation;
– establishment of a review panel to make determinations on the credibility of applications;
– the provision of evidence that countries are offering full citizenship and associated rights;
– the provision that an athlete can transfer only once; and
– that no transfers take place before the age of 20.

The world governing body added that, due to upcoming area championships, the transfer of allegiance review panel will endeavour to process those that have been held in the system as quickly as possible.

This includes the case of sprinter Leon Reid, who hopes to represent Ireland at the European Championships in Berlin, taking place from August 7-12.

The 24-year-old, who won Commonwealth 200m bronze for Northern Ireland in April, last represented Britain at the European U23 Championships in July 2015, when he claimed 200m silver.

“As you all probably know the last few years have been up and down trying to get any answers but finally, the IAAF have come to a decision about the pending transfers,” he wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

After listing some of the conditions which he believes he meets, Reid added: “But this does not mean that my transfer is complete, it will be processed properly though the right channels and hopefully resolved in time for Europeans.”

According to the IAAF, athletes and member federations must now complete new paperwork and sign a declaration before their case is reviewed by the panel.

The transfer of allegiance update was announced during a briefing on the second day of the 214th IAAF Council Meeting in Buenos Aires, where topics including the Russian federation’s suspension and new anti-doping regulations were also discussed.

While the Council is said to have noted “significant progress” by the Russian federation in meeting the outstanding requirements for reinstatement, “and in some cases going above and beyond what was required”, it was decided that the Russian federation’s suspension will remain in force until the next Council meeting in December.

In his latest report, chair of the Russia Taskforce, Rune Andersen, detailed three main requirements still outstanding, including a payment of costs, acknowledgment of McLaren and Schmid Commissions findings and access to data. Further details on those requirements can be found here, while the full report is here.

While the Russian federation remains suspended, the IAAF Doping Review Board has been considering requests for Russians to compete in international competition as neutral athletes.

On Friday it was confirmed that 1500m runner Yegor Nikolayev and sprinter Aleksandr Skorobogatko have met the exceptional eligibility criteria to compete as neutrals. The IAAF said that a total of 74 Russian athletes have so far been declared eligible to compete as Authorised Neutral Athletes (ANA) in 2018, while 68 applications have been denied and five athletes have had their ANA status revoked.

Anti-doping

Coe also announced that the IAAF Council has approved new regulations which detail the obligations of its member federations in the fight against doping.

Previously, the obligations under the anti-doping code were focused primarily on individuals rather than member federations. The Athletics Integrity Unit recommended the new regulations to the IAAF as a “crucial step” in protecting the integrity of the sport.

The IAAF will divide member federations into three categories “which will have different obligations based on their level of success in athletics and the risk of doping”.

The current watch list of four member federations – Kenya, Ethiopia, Belarus and  Ukraine – will be folded into Category A, which will include those member federations considered “most at risk of doping”. The national team athletes from these federations will have to undergo at least three out-of-competition doping tests in the 10 months before a world championships or Olympic Games.

Category B will include the other federations who are competitive at international level, while Category C will include federations with very few international-level athletes.

Category A and B federations will be required to ensure athlete drug-testing plans are submitted to the IAAF before each world championships or Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, Coe confirmed that Budapest is the preferred European candidate city for the IAAF World Championships in 2023. A full technical, financial and risk evaluation will now be undertaken, with the results presented to the Council in December, when a final decision is set to be made.

The Council also received progress reports on the new world ranking system, which it intends to introduce next year; the re-structuring of the global calendar to allow clear periods for road racing and indoor and outdoor seasons, ending with the world championships; and plans to revamp the Diamond League which the Council agreed was vital to the sport remaining relevant to athletes and fans.

Commenting on the 214th IAAF Council Meeting, Coe said: “This has been a busy two days with a number of important decisions taken. However as always on these occasions we were also able to discuss some of the issues that cause concerns with athletes and fans.

“We discussed the need to address the issue of large numbers of athletes at the Diamond League wearing identical kit, which causes confusion for spectators and broadcasters. This has to change and a group has been set up to drive this change.

“We also discussed the need to amend and improve governance and control of athlete representatives to better protect and support athletes. We must hold athlete representatives to the same rigour and governance that we hold athletes and ourselves. The current regulations will be reviewed with new more centrally controlled regulations presented to the next Council meeting in December.”

athleticsweekly.com

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Russia could be reinstated in December

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Russia could be provisionally reinstated to international track and field competition in December if it meets certain conditions, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said.

Track and field’s governing body suspended Russia in November 2015 after a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report detailed widespread, state-sponsored doping in the sport.

Russia had hoped to be reinstated but IAAF officials meeting in Argentina on Friday unanimously upheld the ban and said that although Russia had taken positive steps in the right direction it had not done enough to merit inclusion.

“We have brought about change and it’s change that is very viable,” IAAF president Sebastian Coe said during the two-day meeting in Argentina’s capital.

“But we weren’t yet at that point where every element of that criteria had been met.”

Rune Andersen, the IAAF’s Russia task force head, said Russia have made “significant improvement” in achieving the requirements set out by the sport’s governing body.

“In fact, in some cases, they have gone above and beyond what is required,” he said.

Andersen, however, said three requirements had to be met before Russia could be readmitted to international competition.

Firstly, RUSAF (the Russian Athletics Federation) has to pay for costs incurred by the IAAF as a result of the scandal.

WADA must also reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which depends on the country acknowledging the findings that officials at the Russian ministry of sports orchestrated the doping of its athletes, and its cover-up.

Finally, Russian authorities have to give access to data from doping tests carried out at RUSADA’s Moscow laboratory from 2011-15.

“It would make a mockery of clean sport to reinstate RUSAF when the evidence required to resolve these suspicions, one way or the other, is still being withheld,” Andersen said.

WADA is communicating with Russian authorities to try to resolve these issues before the meeting of the doping agency’s executive committee in September.

“We hope there will be a breakthrough,” Andersen said. “If these points are resolved before the (IAAF) Council’s next meeting in Monaco in December 2018, then the Task Force would hope and expect to be able to recommend that RUSAF would be provisionally reinstated at that time.”

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KENYA ON MOST AT RISK OF DOPING – IAAF

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Kenya has been ranked the top most country likely to dope according to the IAAF. This negative ranking has come in the wake of high ranking athletes testing positive for various banned substances.

The top-tier athletes have included Asbel Kiprop who is the most recent high ranking athlete to test positive.

The 1500m Olympic champion and world champion, Rita Jeptoo the 3 time Boston marathon and course record holder, Jemimah Sumgong, Shieys Jepkosgei, Ken Kirui, and Sharon Ndinda Muli. Florence Chepsoi and Joseph Kariuki Gitau

Kenya is also ranked besides Ethiopia, Belarus and Ukraine. IAAF President Sebastian Coe said that the governing council has approved new regulations which spell out regulations for member states on how they can fight against doping.

Under existing regulations the burden was previously under the Anti-doping code and was focused on individuals as opposed to member states. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) recommended a raft of new regulations that will shift the burden to member federations and help clean up and shore up integrity in the sport.

The IAAF will divide member federations into three categories “which will have different obligations based on their level of success in athletics and the risk of doping”.

The current watch list of four member federations – Kenya, Ethiopia, Belarus and  Ukraine – will be folded into Category A, which will include those member federations considered “most at risk of doping”. The national team athletes from these federations will have to undergo at least three out-of-competition doping tests in the 10 months before a world championships or Olympic Games.

The second Category B will include the other Federations who are competitive at international level, while Category C will include Federations with very few international-level athletes.

Category A and B Federations will be required to ensure athlete drug-testing plans are submitted to the IAAF before each world championships or Olympic Games.

This new measures will either make Kenya get rid of dishonest athletes who are bringing the country much disrepute while ensuring athletes compete honestly.

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Kenya wants no discrimination in new IAAF anti-doping rules

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Doping is a global menace and there should be no discrimination in the tough new anti-doping rules announced by the sport’s governing IAAF at its council meeting in Buenos Aires last week, a senior Kenyan athletics official said on Monday.

Under the rules approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations, Kenyan athletes will be among those required to have at least three out-of-competition doping tests in the 10 months before a world championships or Olympics.

“The rigorous dope testing Kenyan athletes will be subjected to be a necessary evil to safeguard the interest of the majority of those who overwhelmingly run clean,” Barnabas Korir, a member of Athletics Kenya’s (AK) Executive Committee, told Reuters.

“It’s however our belief this is done with the assurance that doping is a global menace and has to be fought as such without discrimination. AK will cooperate fully to fulfill its objectives and help reduce and eventually eliminate this vice.”

Up to 50 Kenyan athletes have failed dope tests in the past six years, among them 2016 Rio Olympics marathon champion Jemima Sumgong and former Olympic and three-time world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Kiprop’s case is with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body that manages all doping-related matters, which is due to hold a hearing in London next month.

Under the new anti-doping rules announced on Friday, the IAAF has divided its member federations into three categories which will have different obligations based on their success in athletics and the perceived risk of doping.

Kenya is in Category A along with eastern African rivals Ethiopia, Belarus and Ukraine, who were described by the IAAF as “member federations majorly at risk of doping.”

Previously, obligations under the anti-doping code were focused mainly on individuals rather than member federations.

The AIU recommended the new regulations to the IAAF as a crucial step in protecting the integrity of the sport.

The power to categorise members into one of the three groups will rest with the AIU board and the new rules will come into effect from 2019, a year before the Tokyo Olympics.

The AIU replaced the IAAF’s anti-doping department in April last year and handles aspects including testing, intelligence and investigations related to misconduct within the sport.

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David Rudisha, Vivian Cheruiyot and Ezekiel Kemboi inducted in Hall of Fame

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World 800m record holder David Rudisha, four-time world champion Ezekiel Kemboi and Olympics 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot have been inducted into the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Hall of Fame.

The three athletes who have one thing in common besides their feats at both national and international, they are all Olympic gold medalists in their respective races.

This accolade was bestowed at the welcoming Dinner for athletes and officials participating at the 21st edition of the African Athletics Championships that is being held in Asaba, Nigeria.

According to Nigerian newspaper The Punch, out of the 16 inductees only two were in attendance – Nigerian Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor and Olusoji Fasuba.

The publication continued saying that the event started five hours late, which forced athletes to stay away.

The Publication further reported that the Ethiopians and Kenyans did not attend as they arrived in Asaba late on Tuesday after being stranded in Lagos for two days.

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe, CAA President Kalkaba Malboum and members of his executive committee, State Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and top government officials at Federal and State level, diplomats and the LOC led by its Chairman Solomon Ogba graced the occasion.

Ethiopia inductees were led by world record holder and champion Genzebe Dibabaa, Almaz Ayana an Olympics and World Champions and long distance legend Kenenisa Bekele.

Other Ethiopians who were inducted are World Champion Tirunesh Dibaba and former world 5000m record holder Mesert Defar.

South Africa duo of Caster Semanya and Wayde van Niekerk both Olympics and World Champions were also inducted though Nieker is still is still recovering from a knee injury, which he sustained during a celebrity rugby match last year.

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Russian Danil Lysenko stripped of neutral athlete status

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Russian high jumper Danil Lysenko has been provisionally suspended and stripped of his status as a neutral athlete following breach of anti-doping regulations, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Friday.

Russia was banned by the IAAF in 2015 following an independent World Anti-Doping Agency investigation into allegations, still denied by Moscow, of state-sponsored doping.

Some Russian athletes, however, were cleared to compete internationally by demonstrating to the IAAF that their training environment met the required anti-doping standards.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has charged and provisionally suspended Lysenko for the breaches.

“The decision… has been made as a result of Mr Lysenko’s failure to provide whereabouts information as required under the IAAF Anti-Doping Rules and Regulations and to make himself available for out-of-competition testing by the AIU,” the IAAF said in a statement.

Lysenko cannot compete at next week’s European Athletics Championships in Berlin, the governing body added.

The 21-year-old equalled the season’s best in high jump with a leap of 2.40 metres at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last month.

Competing as a neutral athlete, Lysenko also won gold at the world indoor championships in Birmingham by defeating Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, who beat him to top the world championships in London last year.

He was one of seven Russian athletes allowed by the IAAF to participate in Birmingham in March.

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DOPING: IAAF SUSPENDS KENYAN MARATHONER

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International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF) Integrity Unit suspends Kenyan marathoner for allegedly doping.

The world governing athletics body integrity has suspended the 2006 Commonwealth Games 10,000m gold and 5000m bronze medalist Kenya’s Lucy Wangui Kabuu after testing positive for banned narcotic, morphine.

According to the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), Kabuu’s suspension was effected on August 1 after her blood samples showed presence of Morphine which is a prohibited substance under Article 2.1 of the Anti Doping rules.

“@AIU_Athletics has issued a Notice of Charge against Lucy Wangui for a violation of Article 2.1 of the Anti-Doping Rules.

The Kenyan marathon runner is has been Provisionally Suspended from all competition,” a statement on the AIU official twitter feed said on Friday afternoon.

Since 2011, the Japan based Kabuu, has competed and won at the Great North Run in England and the Delhi Half Marathon in India .

She made her marathon debut in 2012 and became the eighth fastest woman ever with a time of 2:19:34 hours for second place at the Dubai Marathon in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Before graduating into road race running, she was a team silver medal winner at the 33rd IAAF World Cross Country Championships in 2005 held at St Galmier’s Hippodrome Joseph Desjoyaux, France.

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WHO IS PROTECTING DR. GABRIELE ROSA?

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Another soldier down is a common phrase among soldiers in combat use when one of them falls in battle.

This phrase aptly captures the recent doping cases involving Lucy Kabuu and Boniface Mweresa. Their case have one common denominator, they both hail from the Rosa and Associati camp.

One year ago we covered Dr. Gabriele Rosa in an expose detailing how his camp had over the years produced champions as well as the highest number of athletes found to have used enhancing drugs. The recent cases of Kabuu who joined Rosa’s camp in January tested positive for narcotic morphine in April. Until then, Kabuu had been an athlete competing honestly for over 15 years without any involvement with banned substances. It is not wrong to assume that her positive test can be linked to her joining the camp.

Hon. Wesley Korir former Boston Marathon champion had this to say about the latest doping scandal involving Lucy Kabuu from the Rosa camp, “I will be vindicated one day when I say that the biggest problem in Kenya doping menace is Rosa and associates and the only way to truly fight doping in Kenyans is to ban this agency from representing Kenyans. Ask when did Kabuu join this agency and immediately she is doping?

So the question to be answered is who is protecting Dr. Rosa? Why is this camp so important to Kenya despite the negative image it has painted of Kenya, a country that has been known as an athletics powerhouse but now every win is being questioned by the world?

Some of the high level names include Rita Jeptoo, Jemima Sumgong, Mathew Kisorio and Agatha Jeruto. The most recent high level athlete has been Asbel Kiprop. The coach under who these names were found to test positive for banned substances was Claudio Beraddelli.

In 2015 Athletics Kenya banned Rosa Associati and Volare Sports for six months as they investigated their roles in doping cases but were later lifted under unclear circumstances by AK.

Many questions arises about this man Dr. Rosa, how powerful is he that he manages to get his way through this doping issues? Has Athletics Kenya shielded the alleged peddlers of doping in Kenya, Rossa Associati, for a long time? Does Dr. Rosa fund Athletics Kenya? Does he have insiders at the IAAF that shield him and his athletes?

According to his website (www.rosassociati.it) the stable has 69 and 35 top notch athletes from around the world. The stable has names like Nijel Amos, Asbel Kiprop, Lonyangata Paul,Stanley Biwott,Lilesa Feyisa Gemeche,Belay Tigist Gashaw,Getent Tigest Mekonen,Yalew Genet and Jemima Sumgong just to name the few.

He has one of the biggest athletes stable in the world with the biggest names in athletics world from the likes of former world record holder and Kenya’s legend Paul Tergat to the current crop of emerging runners the likes of Tuei Sandrafelis Chebet a junior champion.

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Asaba 2018 Report: Great spectatorship, poor mismanaged event and facilities

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When the curtains fell at the Asasba 2018 event, Kenya had proved her dominance in athletics the Africa power house edging out defending champion, South Africa and host Nigeria to win the 21st edition of the African Senior Athletics Championships rounded that was held at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Niger Delta.

The East Africans, who hosted and won the 19th edition in 2014, beat defending champions, South Africa and host, Nigeria, to the second and third positions respectively.

The Kenyans swept six gold medals yesterday to bring their total medals to 19, made up of 11 gold, six silver and two bronze medals.

by Emmanuel Korir, Aron Koech, Alphas Kishoyian,Jared Momanyi

Kenya’s victorious 4x400m relay squad led by Emmanuel Korir, Aron Koech, Alphas Kishoyian and Jared Momanyi. Photo: Courtesy

The 22,000-capacity Stephen Keshi Stadium was always filled throughout the duration of the competition. There seems to be more tricycle operators in the city than cars.

However, the Asaba 2018 championship was not all a smooth sail in the area of facilities, as many athletes said the CAA-approved tracks was bumpy and could cause serious injuries to them.

Some of them preferred to run slower times to avoid injury, including the women’s 100m, which was won in 11.15 seconds by Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who had ran faster times this year.

The Ivorian said after winning the race that the track needs to be worked on for a smoother finish. “The surface appears good but when you run on it, you notice that it is bumpy and not smooth. There can be no fast times in this competition.”

South Africa’s speed star, Akani Simbine, who won the men’s 100m in 10.25 seconds, said: “I came with the aim to run a sub-9 seconds in Asaba, but that is really not achievable on this tracks. I have to be careful to avoid serious injuries.”

On his part, Nigeria national men’s 100m champion, Adeseye Ogunlewe, who finished fifth in the final of the event, lamented that he stumbled in each of his races.

“This tartan track is bad. You are running fast and all of a sudden you bump into a bad portion and stumble. I almost fell in each of the races. I ran in lane 5 and 6 and each of them was not good.”

Apart from the tracks, the toilets, which served both the athletes and journalists who covered the championship was an eye sore. The sanitary facilities at the stadium could not be effectively used, as there was no water supply to the toilets. To save the situation, the organisers had to detail over 10 sanitary workers to fetch water from a tank outside the main-bowl to cater for the athletes’ needs.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou

Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou celebrates after winning the 100m women gold at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships. Photo: Getty Images.

The television set provided inside the media center did not function throughout the duration of the championship. Until the end of the championship on Sunday, the facility imported to provide floodlight for the event were still lying on the ground, thereby forcing CAA officials to re-adjust the programme of event. The scoreboard till now is yet to be fixed.

Another setback recorded at the championship was accreditation of athletes and officials. Even journalists also found it difficult to get accredited and many were denied access to be part of the opening ceremony at the stadium.

At the Patrick Okpomo Football House in Asaba, venue of the accreditation exercise, many athletes, who arrived on Wednesday, were told to return to their hotels to await their accreditation. Many frowned at the facilities used in capturing their photographs because of poor outcome of the accreditation.

Though, the chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the competition, Chief Solomon Ogba, later apologised for the shortcomings that were experienced at this championships.

While athletics events were ongoing on inside the mainbowl of the stadium on Day 2 of the championship, a newly installed water tank at the swimming pool side of the complex crashed, destroying parts of the stadium fence. The tank tore the bonnet of a Sports Utility Vehicle while parts of the tank fell on another car. It was as a result of poor job by the contractor, as substandard equipment was allegedly used to erect the iron stands. It did not happen inside the mainbowl of the stadium, so the competitions were not disrupted.

The LOC tried in the area of security, protocol, medical, transportation and accommodation.

After the initial hiccup in moving athletes and their officials to Asaba, the state government moved in by providing a chartered flight. As at yesterday morning, the virtually all the visiting athletes and their officials had been evacuated from the city.

To avoid a repeat of such organisational setbacks witnessed in Asaba, the IAAF President, Sebastian Coe, has promised to assist the sport in Africa. “I am not just here for the ceremony, I brought a big team with me from our headquarters to understand the challenges countries face in delivering athletics events like this even at the regional level.

“My team is also here to observe to see how they can be more helpful in the delivering more opportunities. Africa has a great potential and we have to work together with the officials on the continent to understand how the IAAF can help to develop the sport. This is a great event and although there are some challenges, the athletes have been doing well and that is good for the sport.”

The IAAF boss is said to have awarded the hosting right for 2015 World Athletics Championship to Africa. Nigeria is one of the six countries in the continent now bidding to host the event.

Additional : guardian.ng

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Who was Nicholas Bett?

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Kenya’s world champion hurdler Nicholas Bett tragically died on Wednesday.

Bett passed away just a day after returning home from the Continental Championships in Nigeria.

The news of his death has left the athletics world reeling.

Track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, said it was “deeply saddened and shocked” by the news of the father of two’s death.

Barnabas Korir, an official with Athletics Kenya (AK), said: “It is very sad because I talked to him yesterday. He had gone to Nairobi Hospital to see a doctor because of the injury he picked up in Asaba.

“This morning we got the reports (of his death) and, as AK, we are saddened beyond words.”

Nicholas Bett

Nicholas Bett car after it veered off the road and rolled into the ditch. Photo: Courtesy

Kenyan Sports Minister Rashid Echesa added: “On behalf of the sporting fraternity and moscakenya I convey my sincerest condolences to his family. Rest in peace.”

How did Nicholas Bett die?

The Kenyan athlete was killed in a car crash.

The incident occurred after the car he was driving veered off the road and landed in a ditch.

Police commander Patrick Wambani confirmed that Bett hit a bump before losing control of his car.

Where did the incident occur?

Bett was killed while travelling in Lessos, Nandi, in his home country of Kenya.

He is understood to have died at the scene.

How old was Nicholas Bett and why was he a history-maker?

Bett was just 28 years old.

The 400 metre hurdler made history at the 2015 world championships in Beijing by winning the gold medal

In doing so, he became the first Kenyan to win a gold medal in a short distance race on the world stage. He ran a personal best of 47.79 seconds to claim victory in the Bird’s Nest.

He did not qualify for the final at the Olympic Games in Rio the following year, after being disqualified in his heat for hitting a hurdle. He had been expected to place among the medalists.

Unfortunately, he was unable to defend his world title in London in 2017 due to injury, one of a number he suffered in recent years; in last week’s African Athletics Championships he was forced to pull out of his race due to another.

Nevertheless, he was a two-time African Championship medallist.

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AIU: Cover-ups will not stop war on Doping

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Athletics’ fight against doping was discredited by the former leaders of the international athletics’ federation, IAAF, because of corruption and cover-ups.

IAAF has restructured its efforts and is trying innovative ways to tackle doping. The European Championships in Berlin are said to benefit from this new approach.

A modern elite sport is a rather unromantic affair. Thus only the second part of the French writer’s Antoine de Saint-Exupéry famous aphorism applies. Nothing has to do with the heart, “what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The general public’s feel for all the events at the European Athletics Championships comes only from what they see on the big stage. Yet another crucial act follows for all the winners: in the stadium’s underbelly they have to report for doping test procedures.

Here the true winners can be crowned, before then they are simply champions in waiting. Athletes are selected for doping. They are personally guided by a chaperone, without detours, under supervision at all times, to the doping control room. Nine separate cabins have been set up in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, in which athletes have to give their blood and urine. On the tables lie sample bottles and measurement devices.

Because the hunters have trouble to keep up with the cheaters, they do not count solely on the success of in-competition testing. They offer little chance to surprise the cheats. Only the most unsophisticated dopers will walk into the trap. “We do also testings in the hotels mainly pre-competition and also again in a targeted way”, Pedro Branco, head of the medical commission of the European Athletics Association told ARD, “we expect to test at least one third of the participating athletes. So that mean up to 600 tests, for sure.”

Last year IAAF president Sebastian Coe completely overhauled his federation’s fight against doping. Lamine Diack’s era, his predecessor, had turned out to be anything but a glorious chapter because of the scandalous lenient behaviour towards cheaters. Positive tests were covered up, officials were corrupted and dopers were protected.

source: ecs.sportschau.de

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Asbel Kiprop maintains he did not dope

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Multiple world 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop has taken his doping claims to the social media, accusing some individuals of witch-hunt to end and taint his career as an athlete.

First, the runner wrote “I did not take EPO injection into my system. Someone is trying to feed on my priceless sweat in the name of fighting doping. Who is a cheat between me & my accusers advisor? Ok I might be poor but I’m real hardworking & honest. I will always be TRUE.”

He added that he used to wake up early in the morning for his training that paid off well.

“I woke up early @ age14 to go for a morning run. Only to have my dream sacrificed in the name of doping! Please serve me justice @AIU_Athletics I did not dope. Investigate your testing system before prosecuting me Kindly. @TheJusticeDept @iaaforg

“What I’m facing today! Not even the strongest man on Earth can withstand. FALSE DOPING ACCUSATION is worse than Terrorism. Especially when it affects a clean athlete who has lived & genuinely realised the dream. @sebcoe@AIU_Athletics @iaaforg

He went ahead “Conspiracy noun. “A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.” #iTrainHard#iRunClean #iPlayedTrue. A Cheat. noun 1. a person who behaves dishonestly in order to gain an advantage. #ImNotAcheat.

There are only 2 options I need from AIU. 1. Lie to the world & ban me from sport for life. OR 2. Apologise to me my fans & let me gradually gain my motivation to run again. @TheJusticeDept @iaaforg @AIU_Athletics @truthorange#iDidNotDope

I will always stand to support war against doping but not conspiracy towards this noble duty At 19 I lost an Olympic Gold medal to a cheat & I can’t afford to rob anyone their rights by doping. @AIU_Athletics @hrw @ioc

I requested for a retest & a DNA test my accuser is minded to oppose. I have never seen EPO live even. Truth be told.

I don’t even wanna race again unless they clear my name. So you don’t be doomed to believe in inaccuracy. I did not take EPO. Not unless they apologise then they should ban me for life & keep on lying to the world. I did not dope.

Source: dailysport.co.ke

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Deputy President William Ruto to Attend Nicholas Bett’s Burial

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Deputy President William Ruto will lead other top brass government and athletics fraternity during the burial of the late Nicholas Bett at his home in Simat village, Uasin Gishu County on Thursday.

Area MP Oscar Sudi confirmed that Deputy President William Ruto will be joining the mourners.

“Bett is a big man in this country and we are expecting DP to attend since he comes from this county,” said Sudi.

At the same time, Abraham Mutai, the Central Rift Athletics Kenya chairman said that top athletes across the world will be attending the burial ceremony.

“We are expecting International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), Confederation of Africa Athletics (CAA) officials tomorrow,” said Mutai.

He added that Bett was an international athlete and his latest assignment in Asaba, Nigeria was both an IAAF and CAA event.

“He ran well in Asaba and we are expecting top brass officials to grace his last day. Due to such dignitaries, we have planned for a VIP section,” added Mutai.

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Coe hopeful all countries will attend 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha despite diplomatic dispute

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International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe has expressed his hope that all nations will participate at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, despite the ongoing diplomatic issues surrounding Qatar.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were among countries to cut ties with Qatar in June 2017.

They accused the nation of supporting terrorism, a claim which has been denied.

A resulting blockade included withdrawing ambassadors and imposing trade and travel bans.

The ongoing diplomatic crisis has put pressure on Qatar with sport among several sectors impacted.

Qatar’s capital city Doha is set to host next year’s World Athletics Championships, but concerns have been raised over whether the crisis could impact the event.

IAAF President Coe has expressed his hope countries involved in the dispute will still send their athletes to the Championships, however.

“I want every federation to be there,” Coe said, according to Agence France-Presse.

“I see no reason why they shouldn’t.

“Political fragility from time to time emerges in all systems.

“It is very important that international sport maintains its primacy.

“Picking your partnerships around politics can be a pretty transient process if you’re not careful.

“I’m confident that we’ll have a full house in Qatar.”

The Gulf Cup of Nations was among the events impacted by the political crisis, with the tournament having been scheduled to take place in Qatar in December.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE threatened to withdraw from the event, resulting in the Asian Football Confederation moving the competition to Kuwait.

The competition was set to form part of Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In August last year, Egyptian handball clubs Al-Ahly Sports Club and Zamalek turned down invitations to compete at the International Handball Federation Super Globe event in Qatar for political reasons.

Source: insidethegames.biz

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Two Russians who served doping bans previously get medal upgrades

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The International Olympic Committee says it will give medal upgrades to two Russian athletes who have served doping bans.

The IOC will award silver medals to Ekaterina Poistogova and Tatyana Tomashova after other athletes were banned. In the past, the IOC has blocked upgrades in similar cases.

Poistogova was banned for two years in 2017 after a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation found she admitted to using banned substances in undercover footage and discussed techniques to “thwart drug detection.” Tomashova was barred from the 2008 Olympics and banned when a doping sample she submitted was found to contain someone else’s urine.

Both raced at the 2012 Olympics, with Poistogova originally finishing fourth in the 800 meters. Tomashova was fourth in the 1,500.

Two Turkish runners who finished ahead of Tomashova were later disqualified for doping, while Poistogova moved up because her Russian training partner Maria Savinova was banned.

The IOC said it decided to give the medals to the two Russians because their samples from the 2012 Olympics were retested and found to be clean.

“The redistribution of Olympic medals is solely the responsibility of the International Olympic Committee,” track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, said in an e-mailed statement. “The IAAF does retain the right to decide if it will allow such medals to be presented at an IAAF event.”

Reallocating medals isn’t an automatic process, and the IOC board has previously vetoed some upgrades.

In 2007, when the U.S. sprinter Marion Jones was stripped of her gold medal in the 100 meters from the 2000 Olympics, it wasn’t handed to second-place finisher Ekaterini Thanou of Greece.

Thanou had been embroiled in a scandal at the 2004 Olympics after missing a drug test and allegedly staging a motorcycle crash to create an alibi. She was eventually banned for two years over three missed tests.

The IOC didn’t say why the Russians’ cases were different to that of Thanou. It also didn’t respond to a request for comment on whether more medal reallocations are planned, which could mean more tough decisions over who deserves an upgrade.

Numerous weightlifting results from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics were cast into doubt after retests found steroid use was rife in the sport.

In one event from the 2012 Olympics, the men’s 94-kilogram class, all three medalists and six of the top seven finishers were banned for doping. The original ninth-place finisher, Poland’s Tomasz Zielinski, is in line for an upgrade to bronze even though he was sent home from the next Olympics in 2016 for failing a drug test.

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