Three months after the USATF Board of Directors announced their decision to nominate USATF President Stephanie Hightower for the IAAF Council, the directors of USA Track and Field reaffirmed their decision with a second vote. 

 

Saturday in Santa Monica, Calif., the board agreed not to rescind its decision by a 12-1 vote, despite the controversial events from the USATF Annual Meeting in Dec. At the meeting in Anaheim, the USATF Membership voted 392-70 in favor of IAAF Senior Vice President Bob Hersh. Despite the membership’s overwhelming recommendation, the USATF Board voted 11-1 in favor of Hightower. 

 

Hightower’s nomination carries no guarantee of selection to the IAAF Council. Hersh served on the IAAF Council for 16 years, and as the Senior Vice President he stands as the No. 2 elected official at the IAAF. 

 

Since the events of the Annual Meeting, several USATF associations have spoken out against the decision, sending emails and letters urging the Board to reconsider their decision. A petition was even created to speak out against the vote. 

 

The USATF Board responded with a letter addressing the concerns and explaining the rationale behind ignoring the membership’s recommendation, citing the recent political changes within the IAAF. With President Lamine Diack finishing his term in August, two top candidates for the position have emerged in Sebastian Coe and Sergey Bubka.

 

With the upcoming shift in leadership, USATF chose to respond to the change by nominating Hightower as the “best chance to move forward as part of the change.”

 

Hersh has spoken out against the decision, saying that Hightower, a newcomer to the IAAF Council had little chance of being elected to the position of vice president. He also defended his actions while on the Council in an email to his USATF colleagues. 

 

“The change in the IAAF presidency makes this the worst time for us to replace an incumbent Vice President. I also believe that removing me from that position would be perceived negatively by the IAAF community,” Hersh wrote in the email sent on Feb. 12. 

 

The final decision on whether Hightower will receive a spot on the IAAF Council will be announced in late August at a congress alongside the IAAF World Championships in Beijing.