#2 | Headline of 2015

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Corruption at IAAF Leads to All-Out Investigation

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) experienced a massive upheaval after former IAAF President Lamine Diack was arrested by French authorities on charges of corruption and money-laundering in early November. Diack, who acted as president for 16 years, was accused of taking over $1 million in bribes from Russia to cover up positive doping tests. Diack along with several other IAAF officials were arrested under the suspicion that they took money in 2011 to allow at least six Russian athletes to compete at the 2012 London Olympics. During the week of DiackÂ’s arrest, French authorities also visited the IAAF headquarters in Monaco to “carry out interviews and to access documentation.” 

Most recently, Diack admitted to requesting more than $1 million from Russia to fund the political opposition in his native Senegal. According to French newspaper Le Monde, Diack confessed that he asked for the donation from then Russian track federation president Valentin Balakhnichev in 2011 in order to finance the Senegalese political opposition against then-president Abdoulaye Wade. 

“I told him that to win the elections, I needed about 1.5 million euros,” Diack told Le Monde. “He said to me, ‘We’ll try to find it, no problem.”

The news of the former presidentÂ’s arrest and allegations against him have since sent shock-waves throughout the track and field community, leading to a number of questions surrounding the current administration which is led by Sebastian Coe. 

Coe was named IAAF President in August at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and has since been faced with a barrage of questioning. Most recently, Coe announced that he would be giving up his role as a special advisor to Nike Inc. after receiving accusations that it was a conflict of interest. Coe had held the ambassadorial role with the shoe and apparel company for nearly 40 years, but received intense pressure to relinquish the post following allegations that he lobbied for Eugene, Oregon to host the 2021 World Championships. 

EugeneÂ’s close relation to Nike headquarters as well as the fact that the city was awarded the championships without a bidding process raised eyebrows within the track community. A BBC investigation also revealed an email from Craig Masback, director of business affairs for NikeÂ’s Global Sports Marketing, that showed Coe discussed his support for EugeneÂ’s bid to host the meet. 

Coe denied that he lobbied anyone over EugeneÂ’s bid but only encouraged them to re-enter another bidding cycle. 

The most recent news of the investigation came in the form of a leaked email from former IAAF Deputy General Secretary Nick Davies. The email showed evidence that Davies attempted to delay the naming of Russian drug cheats before the 2013 World Championships. The email also revealed talks of a PR plan to ensure minimal media coverage of the Russian doping news. Following the leaked email, Davies announced that he was stepping away from the IAAF until the Ethics Board could review the matter.