IAAF President Lamine Diack speech for Helsinki IAAF Press Conference

IAAF President Lamine Diack speech for IAAF Press Conference

Helsinki - I am delighted to be with you here today, on the eve of the 10th edition of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which is returning to Helsinki, the city where this great competition was inaugurated in 1983.

It is important also to emphasise the role of the city of Helsinki and the Finnish people in helping to make this Championships a real success. It is often said that the soul of track and field athletics resides in Finland, because there is no other place in the world where the public love athletics with such deeply held passion and understanding of the technicalities of each different event. We are looking forward to hearing a lot of noise from the crowd!

Since the first edition of the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 the sport has been transformed. Thanks to the fantastic performances of our best athletes, supported and nurtured by their National Federations, the World Championships has grown in status and appeal so that it now fully deserves its status as one of the top three sporting events in the world, in terms of participants as well as broadcasting ratings.

The global promotion of our top championships is vital for the long term growth of our sport, which is why I am delighted to report that the IAAF has dedicated rights holder agreements that cover 192 countries and territories worldwide, compared to 182 for the last edition in Paris two years ago, which was the previous record.

It is estimated that more than 4 billion television viewers around the world will tune in to see the world’s best athletes in action.
I am also happy to remind you that athletics’ fans in the United States will have the opportunity to watch unprecedented coverage of the 2005 World Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

In total, more than 60 hours of event coverage will be available to US fans through national broadcast as well as the internet.

In addition, for the first time ever, three minute video clips of the best action from each session will be available on the IAAF web site shortly after the close of competition.  The IAAF will also be producing 6 hours of live radio daily on FM networks which will also be made available on internet.

I can report that a total of 196 IAAF Member Federations will take part in these World Championships, which confirms these World Championships as the biggest sporting event of 2005, and the biggest ever in the history of Finland. 28% more federations are competing in 2005, than at the first World Championships in 1983, a sure sign of the growing popularity of our sport around the world. As well as 1,891 athletes, 1,051 men and 840 women, over 3000 representatives of the Media will also be present here.

Turning now to the recently concluded 45th IAAF Congress, it is worth underlining that this is the IAAF’s highest executive body and is a vital democratic forum where the future strategy of the sport is agreed.

Over the last two days, Congress delegates considered close to 300 Rule Change proposals. As expected we had a very lively discussion on regarding the rule for Athletes who wish to change nationality, and yesterday Congress confirmed the rule change made by the IAAF Council in April this year. Congress agreed that athletes will now have to wait for a maximum of three-years AFTER receiving new nationality, regardless of when the athlete competed last for the original federation. Although this new system brings the IAAF into line with the rules of the IOC our juridical experts will continue to study this issue and if necessary, amend the rule further in future. We cannot accept that athletes are treated as commodities which can be bought and sold.

Following a long debate, IAAF Congress also agreed a resolution to demand that four years become the most appropriate period of ineligibility for a serious first-time doping violation.

Although the IAAF does not want unilaterally to change its Rules at this time but Congress has given a mandate for us to use every appropriate means, together with other organizations that recognise the importance of tougher doping penalties, to seek the above change to sanctions in the World Anti Doping Code at WADA’s next Conference in 2007.

I can also highlight another Congress decision, which was the historic election of the 3rd Female Individual IAAF Council Member, as part of the IAAF’s long term strategy to increase the representation of women in its decision making process. The election had been contested by six strong candidates but the winner was Poland’s athletics’ legend IRENA SZEWINSKA.

I look forward to welcoming my new Council Colleague at our next meeting on August 13.

Without going into further details, the conclusion of our Congress was that we must continue to secure the future of our sport by keeping one eye on future possibilities, but the other firmly placed on the realities of today’s world. It is for this reason that we continue to work hard on the delivery of the IAAF World Plan, between now and our centenary in 2012.

It’s clear that the IAAF is in a healthy financial position at the moment, our membership is greater than ever, and our sport continues to be the number 1 summer Olympic sport, as was evident to us all in Athens last year.

One of reasons why athletics remains so popular at the Olympics is that it combines the excitement of head to head competition with the challenge of setting new limits of performance.

For this reason I am pleased that, with the support of two IAAF partners, (TDK for the men and Toyota for the women) the IAAF World Record Programme will ensure that any athlete breaking a world record can claim a $100,000 cash bonus.

But the IAAF is also determined to ensure that these Championships highlight our continuous, aggressive commitment to the war on doping.

In Paris, at the last edition of the World Championships, 405 doping tests were carried out. In Helsinki, in co-operation with the Finnish Anti-doping Agency, we plan to have the most ambitious and comprehensive system of testing ever activated at a World Championships. In Helsinki we have planned more than 850 tests, both before and during the competition: easily the largest testing programme ever conducted at an IAAF World Championships.

Virtually 1 in every 2 athletes will be tested during the Championships. Approximately 350 competitors will be blood screened as they enter the athlete’s village, while during the championships themselves, close to 500 tests will be collected - more than 50 tests for every day of competition. Also in competition, about 100 blood tests will be carried out for the detection of Blood Transfusion and other forms of blood tampering. There will also be tests for human growth hormones.

We have increased the testing before, during and after the competition and we will also focus our efforts on education, which is why we are glad to announce that the IAAF has worked with WADA and FINADA to bring the Athletes Outreach Education programme to the Athletes’ Village in Helsinki. This stand will be officially opened today. Athletes will be able to ask questions of the anti-doping experts from the IAAF and WADA and collect important information regarding anti-doping. Athletes, officials and athletes support personnel have all been encouraged to visit as education is a vital tool in the eternal war against doping.

Continuing on the theme of Ethics in sport, I am extremely honoured to announce that the IAAF has signed an agreement with the United Nations, giving our full support to the UN’s Humanitarian Programmes. “Athletics for a Better World” as we have decided to call this initiative, is perfectly timed to be launched in Helsinki, as 2005 has been designated as the “International year of Sport and Physical Education.” As part of this co-operation, we are supporting the “Make Poverty History” campaign, which is why I, and all the athletes attending this competition, have been given the opportunity to wear a white wrist band, which is the symbol of this campaign.

Finally, I am also pleased to announce that there will be a special biomechanics research project here in Helsinki, aimed at improving our technical understanding of athletics events. We have commissioned two renowned experts, Prof Komi Paavo from the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and Prof Brueggemann  from the German Sport University Cologne, to carry out the research with the support of about 20 Scientists.

This project will focus on the semi-finals and finals of the following events for men and women:

100m, 200m, 400m
1500m, 5000m, 10,000m
Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump and Pole Vault
Javelin Throw

The conclusions will be available on DVD and in a Final Report, with detailed results also presented during a special IAAF Conference, here in Finland, later in the autumn.