by RBR AdminThe question of how to deal with records in our sport that belittle and beg the question, “were the athletes clean?”, have been part of discussions pre , post and during meets for decades. The European Athletics proposal is the beginning of the discussion, and there has been much discussion, much of it negative.
The final decision will require the thoughtfulness of biblical character King Solomon. But, before the King is called, we at RunBlogRun thought it would be good to read the document and consider how to make sense out of something that needs to be fixed. RunBlogRun thinks that there has to be a way to rid the record book of records that are obviously questionable and do not fall under any of needs to approve records in our day and age, and a record system that supports our dreams of a much cleaner sport.
European Athletics endorses record “revolution” plan
The European Athletics Council has accepted a project team’s recommendations that would lead to the rewriting of the world and European records lists.
The project team’s report, which calls for higher technical standards, increased doping control mea- sures and new personal integrity requirements for record holders, will be forwarded to the IAAF with the recommendation that the two organisations coordinate the implementation of new record rati ca- tion rules.
Speaking after the Council’s meeting in Paris, from 28 to 30 April, President Svein Arne Hansen said “performance records that show the limits of human capabilities are one of the great strengths of our sport, but they are meaningless if people don’t really believe them.
“What we are proposing is revolutionary, not just because most world and European records will have to be replaced but because we want to change the concept of a record and raise the standards for recognition a point where everyone can be con dent that everything is fair and above board.
The standards proposed by the project team include that world and European records can only be recognised if 1) the performance is achieved at competitions on a list of approved international events where the highest standards of o ciating and technical equipment can be guaranteed, 2) the athlete has been subject to an agreed number of doping control tests in the months leading up to the perfor- mance and 3) the doping control sample taken after the record is stored and available for re-testing for 10 years.
The project team also recommended that record recognition be withdrawn at any time if the athlete commits a doping or integrity violation, even if it does not directly impact the record performance.
Current records not established in accordance with the agreed standards will remain on the all-time list but recognition will be transferred to performances that meet the criteria.
“It’s a radical solution for sure, but those of us who love athletics are tired of the cloud of doubt and innuendo that has hung over our records for too long,” said Hansen. “We need decisive action to restore credibility and trust and I want to thank the project team, led by Pierce O’Callaghan, for their great work in showing us a way forward.
” This will now go to the IAAF Council Meeting in August and on behalf of European Athletics I will be encouraging them to adopt this proposal,” said Hansen. “In the meantime we will be checking with our legal advisors to make sure the new rules will stand up to any challenges that might come.”
IAAF President Sebastian Coe, who attended the nal session of the meeting together with other European members of the IAAF Council, said, “I like this because it underlines that we [the governing bodies] have put into place doping control systems and technology that are more robust and safer than fteen or even ten years ago.
“Of course, for this to be adopted for world records by the IAAF it needs global approval from all Area Associations. ere will be athletes, current record holders, who will feel that the history we are recalibrating will take something away from them but I think this is a step in the right direction and if organised and structured properly we have a good chance of winning back credibility in this area.”
The European Athletics Council also accepted recommendations to revoke a number of European Athlete of the Year Awards and European Athletics Coaching Awards, subject to legal review.
The full Project Team Report on the credibility of European Records can be viewed in the Related Documents section on this page.
