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Valerie Adams is a strong proponent of anti doping measures. photo by PhotoRun.net
MONACO (MON): IAAF Communications Director Nick Davies has told Reuters that Justin Gatlin will be ineligible to win the IAAF athlete of the year award due to changes made by the IAAF Council in November. The minutes for the meeting read: “Several Council Members expressed concern that the IAAF could encounter legal challenges if the Athletes’ Commission’s recommendation that no athlete who has been sanctioned for a serious doping offence should be shortlisted for the Athlete of the Year award was approved. “However, the majority of Council Members who took the floor supported this recommendation because it enhanced the credibility of the sport, it protected the rights of clean athletes and it assisted in further establishing inappropriate behaviour in the sport that would not be honoured by the IAAF in the future.”
Editor’s note: We are RunBlogRun heartily endorse this. It is not that IAAF is not allowing athletes with offenses to compete again, once they serve their time, but there should be a lessening of benefits. An athlete without a doping offense, who has competed clean, should not be on same level as athlete with offense who has served serious ban.
Again, unless shame and draconian measures are included, doping is considered a business option. In end, unless the brand is damaged, some athletes and their teams will see doping as merely a business decision, and take the chance.
We applaud IAAF for making this decision. It makes it clear, a serious offense (which we read as two years or more?) and athlete should not be included in Athlete of Year list.
That is a celebration of athlete. And it should have its qualifications.