Athletics
CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS TRAIL ELECTION OF 1ST IAAF FEMALE VICE PRESIDENT
Ximena Restrepo was chosen as the first female vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Wednesday but the election was overshadowed by the late decision to prevent the United Arab Emirates’ Ahmed Al Kamali from standing.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced he had been suspended for a “potential violation of the IAAF Candidacy Rules and Integrity Code of Conduct”.
The decision to ban Al Kamali, President of the UAE Athletics Federation and an attorney at law, from standing for vice-president and the IAAF Council was taken so late that he had already arrived here for the vote and officials had to remove his accreditation from him.
It is believed that the AIU had been investigating allegations of corruption against Al Kamali for several weeks and interviewed him in the Qatari capital last night.
Sebastian Coe, himself re-elected for a second term as IAAF President today, claimed that he did not find out about the decision until a few minutes before the Congress was due to begin and did not know what the specific allegations were.
But, in 2015, when he was elected as a member of the IAAF Council in Beijing, Al Kamali was forced to deny allegations he had offered delegates Rolex watches in an attempt to win votes at the Confederation of African Athletics Congress.
He denied the claims.
Restrepo, the first Colombian to win an Olympic medal in athletics when she claimed a bronze in the 400 metres at Barcelona 1992, was elected as the first female vice-president in the IAAF’s 117-year history.
The 50-year-old, now a citizen of Chile, was elected ahead of Canada’s Abby Hoffman, the 1963 and 1971 Pan American Games 800m gold medallist and 1966 Commonwealth Games 880 yards champion, and The Netherlands’ Sylvia Barlag, who finished 10th in the pentathlon at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.
Restrepo polled 85 votes with Hoffman getting 68 and Barlag 53.
“Ximena is a former athlete which is tremendously helpful when you’re driving the sport forward,” Coe said.
“I am delighted that we have for the very first time elected a female vice-president and that she will be joined by seven other women on Council.
“This is a historic moment.”
Coe had initiated a change in the IAAF constitution following his election in Beijing four years ago to ensure that there would be a female vice-president.
“I’m really honoured to take this position,” said Restrepo.
“It’s a great moment for me and for my country.
“I would like to thank you, Seb, because this was only made possible because of you and the changes made to the constitution.
“I think we, as women, now have more opportunities than before.
“I just hope I can do a good job.
“I’d like to thank all of the Member Federations who voted for me.
“I hope I can be all that they expected me to be.”
Restrepo is joined as IAAF vice-president by Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka, Norfolk Island’s Geoffrey Gardner and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Nawaf Bin Mohammed Al Saud.
Bubka, who held the post of senior IAAF vice-president having lost out for President to Coe in 2015, and Gardner were elected with 139 and 105 votes respectively.
But Cuba’s double Olympic gold medallist Alberto Juantorena, elected as a vice-president in Beijing four years ago, lost his position.
He was beaten by Prince Nawaf in a run-off after both polled 71 votes.
In the second vote, Prince Nawaf received 106 votes to Juantorena’s 100.
Juantorena did, however, win one of the 13 seats on the IAAF Council.
Hoffman and Barlag also retained their places on the Council – meaning there will be a record eight women on the sport’s ruling executive.
Restrepo, Hoffman and Barlag will be joined by Italy’s Anna Riccardi and Morocco’s Nawal El Moutawakel, who also retained their places, and newcomers Nan Wang, vice-director of the Chinese Athletics Association, and Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary general of the Ugandan Athletics Federation.
The final female member of the Council will be a representative of the IAAF Athletes’ Commission, expected to be announced in November.
Hiroshi Yokokawa, President of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, is another newly-elected member of the IAAF Council less than a year before Tokyo is due to host the Olympic Games.
The 72-year-old businessman, the former executive vice-president at Osaka Gas Co Ltd, earned more votes than any of his rivals with 142.
Also elected to the Council for the first time was America’s Willie Banks, silver medallist in the triple jump at the 1983 IAAF World Championships, and Spain’s Raul Chapado, another former triple jumper who competed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
The list of debutants was completed by Dobromir Karamarinov, the first vice-president of European Athletics.
Adille Sumariwalla, President of the Athletics Federation of India, who competed in the 100m at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, retained his place on the Council.
The 61-year-old, now a successful media tycoon in India, had earlier withdrawn from the race for IAAF vice-president.
The IAAF Council is completed by Antti Pihlakoski, President of the Finnish Athletics Federation.
The 58-year-old, a former middle-distance runner, polled 125 votes, more than anyone except Yokokawa.
insidethegames has contacted Al Kamali for comment.
The proposed switch of allegiance by Nigerian sprint star Favour Ofili to Türkiye has hit a major obstacle, with Nigerian sports authorities insisting that the 23-year-old remains eligible to compete for Nigeria.
Ofili announced in September on her Instagram account, followed by more than 40,000 people, that she was beginning “a new chapter representing Türkiye,” signalling her intention to change sporting nationality after years of representing the Nigeria national athletics team.
“I moved to Türkiye to save my career from officials,” the U.S.-based sprinter later wrote, explaining that her decision was influenced by frustrations with Nigeria’s sporting administration.
However, nearly six months after the announcement, Ofili has yet to compete for her new country, and the process appears stalled.
A senior official of the National Sports Commission told reporters in February that Ofili is still considered a Nigerian athlete and cannot immediately switch allegiance.
“She is still our athlete,” the official said, adding that Ofili was among the elite athletes who received training scholarships from the commission last year.
According to the official, if the sprinter intends to compete for another country, she may have to wait until September 2028, potentially ruling out a change before the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Career Frustrations
Ofili’s rapid rise in athletics has been accompanied by several controversies that have strained her relationship with Nigeria’s sporting authorities.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she was among Nigerian athletes barred from competing after failing to meet required out-of-competition doping control tests.
Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she also revealed she had been excluded from the women’s 100-metre event despite qualifying.
“It is with great sadness that I have just been informed that I will not be competing in the 100-metre dash at these Games,” she wrote at the time. “I qualified, but those in charge did not register me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity.”
Debate Over Loyalty
The controversy has sparked debate within Nigeria’s athletics community.
Former African sprint queen Mary Onyali recently said she rejected offers from European countries to compete under their flags during her career because of her loyalty to Nigeria.
Ofili responded by suggesting the circumstances were different, noting that Onyali “was never denied the opportunity to compete in any competition after working hard to qualify.”
Speaking through her coach, Dennis Shaver, Ofili also dismissed speculation that financial incentives were the main motivation for her proposed move.
“I am a woman, and I have a short-term job,” she said. “This is the ideal time to make the most of the time I have left in my career.”
Türkiye’s Recruitment Drive
Ofili’s case comes amid an aggressive talent recruitment drive by Türkiye aimed at strengthening its athletics programme ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.
Following a disappointing performance at the Paris Games, where the country finished 64th in the medal table without a gold medal, Turkish authorities launched a strategy to recruit top athletes from abroad.
According to athletics coordinator Önder Özbilen, several international athletes have already agreed to compete for Türkiye.
Among them are four Jamaican athletes, including Olympic discus champion Roje Stona, as well as five Kenyan runners, including former marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei.
Whether Ofili will ultimately join them remains uncertain.
For now, the Port Harcourt-born sprinter remains officially tied to Nigeria, leaving unresolved the question of which flag she might carry on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics.
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Athletics
World Athletics Nullifies Junior Records of Three Ethiopian Runners Over Age Irregularities
World Athletics has refused to ratify several junior world records set by three Ethiopian distance runners after an investigation uncovered irregularities in their dates of birth.
The decision follows a probe by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), which determined that the real ages of Birke Haylom, Melknat Wudu and Medina Eisa could not be conclusively verified when the records were set between 2023 and 2024.
The ruling means several outstanding under-20 performances by the trio will no longer stand as official world junior records.
Among the affected marks are Haylom’s world under-20 bests in the mile (4:17.13), indoor 1,500 metres (3:58.43) and outdoor 5,000 metres (14:23.71). Wudu’s junior indoor 3,000 metres record of 8:32.34 has also been invalidated, while Eisa’s 5,000 metres time of 14:21.89—previously recognised as the world junior best—has been struck from the record books.
Investigators confirmed that Eisa’s actual birth date is 17 October 2002, rather than 3 January 2005 as previously documented. The finding means she was 22 when she won gold in the 5,000 metres at the 2024 World Under-20 Championships, well above the age limit for the junior category.
The AIU also concluded that Haylom was older than indicated in her official documents, although details of the discrepancy were not publicly disclosed. In Wudu’s case, unresolved doubts about her birth date prevented the ratification of her record.
Under championship rules, athletes competing in under-20 events must be 19 or younger during the competition year and must provide verifiable documentation confirming their eligibility.
While the athletes’ performances remain valid as competition results, they cannot be recognised as junior records.
The investigation forms part of a wider age-verification campaign by the AIU in East African athletics ahead of the next 2026 World Under-20 Championships in the United States.
So far, World Athletics has not announced disciplinary sanctions against the athletes, although AIU regulations allow bans of between two and four years in proven cases of age manipulation.
The removal of the five records marks a significant setback for performances that had previously placed the runners among the most promising young talents in global distance running.
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The Future Olympian Athletics Classic has been rescheduled from the first quarter of 2026 to the last quarter of the year, as organisers move to transform the meet into a truly national developmental programme spanning Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
In a statement signed by Bruce Ijirigho, a former quarter-miler and Team Nigeria captain to the 1976 Summer Olympics, the postponement was described as a strategic decision aimed at broadening participation and ensuring that young talents across the country are discovered and nurtured systematically.
The competition is being organised by the Youth Sports Renaissance Foundation (YSRF), a non-profit organisation registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission by Ijirigho, Godwin Obasogie and Charlton Ehizuelen. The foundation’s primary objective is to revive athletics, particularly at the secondary school level, and rebuild Nigeria’s once-thriving grassroots sports culture.
Ijirigho, who serves as Project Lead, explained that the initiative is not about creating something entirely new but about restoring a proven system that once produced champions.
“This competition is not about reinventing the wheel,” he said. “It is about bringing back the culture that ensured that my contemporaries and I were discovered early in secondary school, received the right coaching and academic support, and went on to earn scholarships while combining sports with education. Many of us later became national, continental and global champions.”
He identified early exposure and modern, age-appropriate coaching as the missing links in youth development across Nigeria and much of Africa.
“The bane of sports in Nigeria and many African countries is that our youth don’t get opportunities early enough and lack modern coaching techniques that accelerate their development,” Ijirigho stated.
According to him, the Future Olympian Athletics Classic will go beyond competition by incorporating international coaching clinics designed to transfer contemporary skills and knowledge to Games masters and grassroots coaches nationwide.
“The Classic will not only discover talents in their early teens but also upgrade the capacity of our coaches. That way, we will nurture them properly to become Olympians and world beaters in their late teens and early twenties. This programme is strictly for high school students because it is developmental.”
The decision to expand the event to all six geopolitical zones, he noted, reflects a commitment to inclusivity and equal opportunity.
“Talents abound in every nook and cranny of the country. There are middle- and long-distance runners, sprinters, quarter-milers, jumpers and hurdlers who were either not discovered at all or discovered too late. With this postponement, we can widen the tent and give every Nigerian child a fair chance.”
Ijirigho expressed confidence that with proper planning and sustained grassroots investment, Nigeria can reclaim its place at the summit of global athletics.
“We have what it takes to dominate athletics worldwide. All we need is to get our development programme right. The Future Olympian Athletics Classic will lay that foundation for our youth and for the country when it begins in the last quarter of 2026.”
With its expanded national scope and emphasis on structured youth development, the initiative signals a renewed push to reposition Nigerian athletics for long-term global success.
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