Athletics
SEBASTIAN COE RE-ELECTED AS IAAF PRESIDENT
- BY DUNCAN MAYKAY at the Hotel Sheraton Grand Doha
Sebastian Coe has been unanimously re-elected for a second term as President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), with 203 votes.
The 62-year-old Briton was standing unopposed for a second term having been elected four years ago to replace Lamine Diack.
His re-election two days before the start of this year’s IAAF World Championships in Qatar’s capital on Friday (September 27) came after the Congress voted 164 to 30 to back the decision to extend a suspension on Russia competing under its own flag following evidence of state-supported doping.
Like Coe’s unopposed selection, the Russian decision was not a surprise, with the IAAF having announced on Monday (September 23) that Russia will miss the World Championships for the second time in succession due to a doping scandal.
Russia were originally banned in November 2015, shortly after Coe’s election in Beijing, and this has since been extended 11 times.
“This was not an easy journey,” Coe said following his re-election.
“It has been a tough four years.
“There’s no point in being naive or coy about that.
“We have to grow the sport – we have to reach out beyond the beltway of athletics fans.”
But Coe, the double Olympic 1500 metres gold medallist, claimed that, even though his first term would be remembered for the Russian doping crisis, he was satisfied with the progress the sport had made under him.
“I genuinely am very pleased and proud of the way the sport has come together,” he said.
“Two-hundred changes, the Athletics Integrity Unit – no sport has a unit in the same space, it’s about malpractice, corruption.
“In making those achievements, I recognise we have had to detour from being able to really focus as hard as I would have liked in the early years around the field of play.
“We’re now in the position to really genuinely do that’”
Following his election in Beijing four years ago, when he beat Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka in a close race by 115 votes to 92, Coe appeared alongside Lamine Diack, the man he succeeded as President, and claimed “he will always be our spiritual President and he will certainly be my spiritual President”.
These words came back to haunt Coe when Diack, the IAAF President for 16 years, was arrested by French authorities following allegations Russian athletes were protected after failing drugs tests.
Coe has largely repaired the damage to his reputation caused by Diack’s arrest following his tough stance on Russia.
“The world divides into two groups,” Coe said.
“Those prepared not to look the other way and tackle the problem even if there are short-term issues in doing so… and those who wait for sports like us to do what we need to do, and then follow.”
-insidethegames
A record 6,000 runners, local and international from across the African continent and Nigeria have registered for the second edition of the Lotus Bank Abeokuta 10km Run slated for September 28, 2024, as the organisers, Nilayo Sports Management Limited guns for a bronze label status for the race.
The Chief Operating Officer of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Ebidowie Oweifie, noted that the theme of this year’s edition of the Abeokuta 10km Race titled ‘For Greatness’ out is out to commemorate the birthday anniversary of the Egba paramount ruler, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo 111, the 10km Run will flag off at Iyana Oloke at 6am and finish at The Alake Palace, Abeokuta.
Kenya’s Peter Nwaniki is the men’s race defending champion at a time of 28 minutes 14 seconds, while Shamila Kipsirir also of Kenya is the women’s defending champion.
Nigeria’s race men’s defending champion is Francis James at 31minutes 08seconds, while the women’s defending champion is Patience Daylop at 36 minutes 31 seconds.
The second edition of Abeokuta10km Race will be sponsored by Lotus Bank, FEBBS Premium Water, Fatgbems Petroleum Limited and Cash Token.
Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan is the winner as the Court of Arbitration for Sports, CAS has rejected the appeals filed by World Athletics and WADA.
The decision confirms the decision taken by the World Athletics disciplinary tribunal finding that Tobi Amusan did not commit any anti-doping rule violation.
Here is the full statement of CAS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeals filed by
World Athletics (WA) and by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision issued on 17 August 2023 (the Challenged Decision) by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal (WADT) in relation to the hurdler Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Amusan (Nigeria).
Accordingly, the Challenged Decision in which the WADT considered that Tobi Amusan did not violate Rule 2.4 of the WA Anti-Doping Rules (WA ADR) and that no period of ineligibility should be imposed on the Athlete is confirmed.
The Athlete was initially charged with committing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Rule 2.4 WA ADR following three alleged Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.
In their respective appeal to CAS, WA and WADA had sought the imposition of a two-year period of ineligibility. The CAS Panel held a hearing on 19 January 2024. Having deliberated, the CAS Panel has issued its decision today dismissing both appeals. The CAS Panel unanimously acknowledged that the Athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within a 12-month
period. Accordingly, the CAS Panel concluded that the Athlete did not commit an ADRV and that the Challenged Decision should be confirmed.
The reasoned award will be published by CAS unless the parties request confidentiality.
Nigeria’s Paris 2024 medal hopeful, Tobi Amusan has been cleared as the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Athletics.
She is therefore cleared to feature at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Amusan is the 100m hurdles world record holder.
The athlete was charged in July last year with missing three anti-doping tests in 12 months but was cleared of the offence by the Disciplinary Tribunal of the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.
The Integrity Unit of the World Athletics appealed the clearance which has now been dismissed by CAS, the final arbiter in the case.
CAS in its statement remarked that its panel “unanimously acknowledged that the athlete committed two filing failures but did not confirm the existence of a missed test, alleged by WA and WADA, which would have been the third Whereabouts Failure committed within 12 months.”
Amusan set the world record of 12.12 seconds in the world championships in Eugene, Oregon, in July 2022 and went on to win the title.
She finished sixth in the world championships in Budapest last year.
World Athletics’ anti-doping rules say any athlete failing to declare their whereabouts for a doping test on three occasions over 12 months is ineligible to compete for two years.
Many fans risk missing 2026 World Cup as Visa window for visitors is closing
Nigeria’s Victor Olatunji becomes third African scoring debutant in Uefa Champions League
Lagos sports writers mourn Adeyinka Adebayo
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
AFCON1 week agoSuper Eagles lead Afcon Group D qualifiers despite Benin’s defeat of Libya
-
AFCON1 week agoAustin Eguavoen remains the ‘Big Boss’, says NFF
-
AFCON1 week agoWhy I benched Osimhen again – Eguavoen
-
AFCON1 week agoRwanda newspaper gives 5 lessons gleaned from Rwanda-Nigeria clash
-
Nigerian Football1 week agoWesterhof recommends Siasia for Super Eagles’ job
-
AFCON1 week agoNigeria’s managerial crisis resumes as Eguavoen reportedly declines to continue
-
AFCON1 week agoPresent and Past as CAF Coaches Symposium unites Rohr, Peseiro and Eguavoen
-
CAF Confederation Cup6 days agoEnyimba continues unbeaten run against Burkina Faso clubs