IAAF Denies It Was Slow To Act
IAAF President / Sebastian Coe The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Friday defended its anti-doping efforts, hitting back at a London newspaper's allegations the federation was lax in enforcing rules. The statement came a day after Sebastian Coe, the IAAF's president, ended his 100,000 pound-a-year association with Nike and Russia's announcement it would not fight a ban on participation in international track-and-field athletic events until its anti-doping efforts could be brought in line with IAAF standards. The IAAF said it has profiles on 5,500 athletes based on 13,000 blood samples. So far, 145 athletes have been caught with performance-enhancing drugs in their systems. Eight were banned for attempting to manipulate results, and 56 have been sanctioned, with 13 more cases pending and 12 "currently in the pipeline." The Times of London said more athletes should have been sanctioned, and action should have been taken