SAN JOSE, Costa Rica: Athletes must themselves decide the future they want for their sport following the latest doping crisis, former Olympic sprint champion Carl Lewis said yesterday.
Athletics was rocked by a damning report in British newspaper The Sunday Times and by German broadcaster ARD/WDR at the weekend that accused the International Association of Athletics Federations of failing to investigate hundreds of what they called “suspicious” drug tests between 2001 and 2012.
The report raised new questions about the sport just weeks before the August 22-30 world championships in Beijing.
“The future of athleticism depends on the athletes,” Lewis said ahead of the inauguration of the NACAC athletics championships in Costa Rica. “At the end of the day, the sport is going to be as good as the athletes want.
“If they really want changes, they want the sport to grow, then they are the ones that have to stand up and work with the powers to make sure it happens.”
Lewis, who raced during an era that produced a number of high profile positive tests that tarnished the entire sport, was awarded the 100m gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 after Canada’s Ben Johnson was stripped of the title for doping.
Lewis, who also won the 100m and 200m at Los Angeles in 1984 and ended with four long jump golds amongst his nine Olympic titles, said he was not interested in dwelling on the Johnson case.
“I look at that like high school,” the 54-year-old said. “It’s like asking how did you do in math class, what was your grade? It’s like 30 years ago.”
But Lewis said athletics had not been the same since he ended his career the year after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
“I retired in 1997, and the sport has been in a state of decline since then. No one has been able to stop that decline ... no athlete, no administrators.
“So I hope that when we get a new (IAAF) president, the athletes can stand and reach out to the administrators and the federations, and do all we can to make our sport grow.”
Double Olympic 1500m champion Sebastian Coe and former pole-vault king Sergey Bubka are competing for the IAAF job.
Earlier, a spokesman for Coe had referred to his column in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph.
“In less than two weeks I will be standing for the IAAF presidency but let me be clear that this is not electioneering,” Coe had written.
“Whether there is an election or not, I will always come to the defence of my sport when it is being treated unfairly.
“The very fact that I am standing for the presidency is because I have been in the sport for 45 years and I know that the vast majority of people in the sport have an absolutely non-negotiable stance on drug abuse.
“For us to be portrayed as a sport that plays fast and loose with these ethics is just wrong.”
Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said yesterday its Independent Commission will urgently launch an investigation into widespread doping allegations against international athletics.
Yet the organisation said it “deplored” the way the blood test data, which has led to the doping allegations, was obtained, leaked to the media and analysed.
The allegations stem from the TV documentary titled “Doping - Top Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics”, which was released by German broadcaster ARD on August 1.
“WADA deplores the manner in which this data was obtained, leaked to the media and analysed,” said WADA President Sir Craig Reedie.
“To suggest or imply doping with respect to any athlete whose data is contained within the database is, at the very least, irresponsible and potentially libellous.
“WADA is committed to protecting the confidentiality of athletes; and, therefore, has asked its Independent Commission to commence its investigation with urgency.
“We are confident that the IAAF, which has formally agreed to full cooperation with the Commission with respect to its inquiries, is equally committed.”
“A portion of the data within the database pre-dates the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), which was introduced in 2009,” said David Howman, WADA Director General.
“This data could not possibly be considered doping, legally or otherwise.”
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