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Showing posts from November 22, 2015

IAAF Denies It Was Slow To Act

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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

IAAF says Russia accepts ban, will cooperate with inspectors

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MONACO (AP) — The IAAF says Russia's federation fully accepts its suspension from track and field over its systematic doping culture. The IAAF council voted on Nov. 13 to suspend Russia's federation — ARAF — after a "deeply rooted culture of cheating" was identified by a World Anti-Doping Agency commission. Russia was told by the IAAF to ban athletes, doctors, coaches and others who doped or were complicit in it and implement reforms, including encouraging whistle-blowing . The IAAF says its council was informed on Thursday that "written confirmation had been received ... from ARAF accepting their full suspension without requesting a hearing." An IAAF statement adds that the Russians "will cooperate fully and actively" with inspectors who will rule on whether they can be reinstated to the governing body.

Ikulu yakanusha kutoa ratiba

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Baraza la Mawaziri Kenya labadilishwa

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Rais Uhuru Kenyatta Rais wa Kenya amefanya mabadiliko katika Baraza lake la Mawaziri na kuwaacha wote ambao wizara zao zilikumbwa na tuhuma za ufisadi. Rais Uhuru Kenyatta amechukua hatua hiyo siku moja tu baada ya kutangaza ufisadi kuwa tishio kwa usalama wa kitaifa. Rais ameahidi kufanya mabadiliko zaidi katika afisi yake hivi karibuni. Katika hotuba ilioonyeshwa kwa njia ya Televisheni, Rais Kenyatta ameongeza idadi ya wizara kutoka 16 hadi 20 na kuongeza idara mpya chini ya wizara mbalimbali katika kile alichosema ni kusaidia mawaziri kutekeleza majukumu yao bora zaidi. Idara hizo zimeongezwa kutoka 26 hadi 41. Rais Kenyatta amefanya mabadiliko katika baraza lake la mawaziri baada ya mawaziri sita kulazimika kujiondoa kutokana na wizara walizosimamia kuhusishwa na ufisadi huku wawili kati yao wakikabiliwa na kesi mahakamani. Ni mabadiliko yaliyotarajiwa hasa baada ya hatua ya aliyekuwa waziri wa Ugatuzi Anne Waiguru kujihuzulu mwishoni mwa jum

Today’s Frequently Asked Questions - IAAF

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IAAF President Sebastian Coe (Getty Images) In our continued effort to be as transparent as possible and to ensure that the public have the same access to the information that the IAAF provides the media, we now share the latest set of 'frequently asked questions' and our answers. Further to the set of questions and answers we published on Sunday related to enquiries by The Sunday Times (UK) concerning IAAF Council’s vote in April 2015 to award Eugene the 2021 IAAF World Championships, yesterday the BBC (UK) asked IAAF President Sebastian Coe the following questions: QU: Did you lobby the IAAF and/or Lamine Diack on behalf of Eugene 2021? If so, given your role with Nike and Nike’s close association with Eugene and Tracktown USA, what would you say to those who would consider this to be a conflict of interest?   AN:  No, I did not lobby anyone on behalf of the Eugene 2021 bid.  After their narrow defeat for the 2019 World Championships I e

Kenyan athletes end 2-day protest, but ...

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Riadha House Stormed NAIROBI, Kenya - The Kenyan government met with athletes on Tuesday to discuss the issues which led them to occupy the headquarters of Athletics Kenya, report Reuters. Athletes continued to barricade Riadha House on Tuesday due to their dissatisfaction with how Athletics Kenya is running the sport. Ahead of a meeting of the sports ministry, the Kenyan Commissioner for Sports, Gordon Oluoch, said: “We want to discuss the issues raised by the athletes to see if we can resolve the matter. We believe in the rule of the law. So even if the athletes have genuine cases, they must operate within the confines of the law, not through the law of the jungle.”  On Tuesday the athletes were joined by their top representatives Wilson Kipsang and Wesley Korir. The two-day protest ended late on Tuesday after the two parties reached an agreement to end the crisis. According to reports, the agreement, brokered by the Kenyan Sports ministry, called for an

IOC president says Athletics Kenya has issues to address

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Thomas Bach / IOC President PORT LOUIS - The concerns and allegations raised against Athletics Kenya, AK, are very serious and need to be addressed, according to International Olympic Committee, President Thomas Bach.  For the second consecutive day, a group of Kenyan athletes who were joined by the former World marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang, occupied the offices of AK, Riadha house. The athletes want the top brass of the national governing body to step down over corruption and doping cover-up allegations, a decision that was also endorsed by the Government. Bach said he had been following the developments and he was concerned with the allegations that had led the athletes to take matters into their own hands.  “What I heard is that some athletes were entering the headquarters of the national Athletics Federation.  This has to be taken very seriously and addressed. I will take the opportunity here to meet with the representatives of the Kenyan committee,”

Kiplagat, Okeyo told to quit as AK siege ends

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Isaiah Kiplagat NAIROBI, November 24- Athletics Kenya (AK) president, Isaiah Kiplagat and Vice-president, David Okeyo, have to step aside to pave way for full investigations into corruption allegations against them. The same treatment will be accorded to any other top federation official accused of graft before they can resume duty. That was the highlight of a seven-point agreement reached on Tuesday evening that formally ended the two-day blockade of the federation’s Riadha House headquarters by a group of runners allied to Professional Athletes Association of Kenya (PAAK) that paralysed operations.  During the formal announcement of the end of the Riadha House siege, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts (MOSCA), Dr. Richard Ekai, asked Kiplagat and Okeyo to relinquish their positions with immediate effect. “We the representatives of officials of AK, PAAK and the MOSCA, following a joint meeting at the Nyayo National Stadium to resolve administ

Kenyan Runners Accuse Officials Of Stealing From Sponsorship Deal

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Athletics Kenya Officials Kenya’s corruption "is now so bad that it has sucked in some of the country’s greatest heroes: its fleet-footed runners," according to Jeffrey Gettleman of the N.Y. TIMES.  On Monday, dozens of world-class athletes "stormed the headquarters of the national athletics association," accusing top officials of "stealing money from a Nike deal and demanding that they resign." Julius Ndegwa, a spokesperson for the runners, said, "These guys have eaten so much," using the Kenyan term "to eat" to refer to official stealing. He added, "Enough is enough." Ndegwa said that "more than 70 runners were planning to spend the night in front of the offices to make sure the officials could not get inside. " The Int'l Association of Athletics Federations announced this month that "its ethics commission was looking into allegations that officials from Athletics Kenya, Kenya’s governing body