Lamine Diack chats online with fans (© IAAF)
The discovery of a new steroid, known as THG, by US researchers was an important moment for track and field. In late July of this year, IAAF officials were contacted by USADA concerning information from an anonymous source that a number of US and international athletes were taking an undetectable designer steroid.
This prompted an immediate response. Firstly, the IAAF sought to collect out-of-competition samples from all the international athletes identified by the source and sent the samples to the IOC-accredited UCLA laboratory in Los Angeles for testing for THG. The IAAF also proceeded to send to UCLA its routine out-of-competition samples that were collected in August prior to the World Championships. Finally, it made arrangements with the IOC-accredited laboratory in Paris to have all samples collected at the World Championships preserved pending the outcome of the USADA investigation.
Unique opportunity to root out athletes who cheat
USADA must take enormous credit for its role in the investigation into THG. Its dedication and expertise, together with that of the UCLA laboratory, have been fundamental to this investigation’s success. We are grateful that USADA shared the information with us at the early stage it did and for the opportunity to work closely with them since late July in casting the net as widely as possible to catch those involved.
We must all accept that we have a unique opportunity to try and root out that small proportion of athletes who cheat, and also those around them who profit from this cheating.
No-one can deny that this THG scandal, is something new, something terrible. It is a conspiracy of cheating which probably also involves organized crime. The IAAF must show strong leadership now, and fight back with every available means to protect the integrity, and perhaps the future of our sport.
It is for this reason that we acted swiftly, with the support of the French authorities, and asked the Paris laboratory to retest the more than 400 samples from the IAAF World Championships in Paris.
A Fantastic Sport
We have a fantastic sport. I read an interview recently with Allen Johnson, the World and Olympic 110-metres Hurdles champion, where he says that 99% of athletes are clean. He's right. We talk only about few who are not clean. Last year, the IAAF conducted 3,018 tests and only 81 were positive. It is just wrong to say that all athletes are cheating. We have some cheats and they must be punished.
We have to catch the one or two percent who are cheating and now we have a very good collaboration between the IAAF, USADA and WADA which shows us the way we must operate to attack doping.
Strict liability
We must also not budge on the principle of "strict liability". Our rule is very clear. Athletes are responsible for what is found in their bodies. We will continue to advise athletes not to take supplements but ignorance is not an excuse.
As for sanctions, I notice that some Member Federations believe that we should consider reintroducing harsher penalties. In fact, it was only in 1997 that the IAAF moved from imposing a four-year ban for a major doping offense, to a minimum two-year suspension, because it was difficult to impose 4 years in some countries. Nevertheless, this is a topic that may be discussed at the next Congress in Helsinki in 2005, even if the WADA code calls for two year suspensions.
It is also the IAAF's duty to consider ways of helping needier federations develop the structures to organize out-of-competition tests.
Athletics will continue to spearhead anti-doping initiatives and we will continue to emphasise the fact that doping is carried out by a minority – not a majority – of active competitors.