Russian official may have to withdraw

IAAF president Lamine Diack has raised the prospect of Russia’s athletics chief withdrawing from his duties until an investigation into allegations of systematic doping and cover-ups is concluded.

It follows a German TV expose claiming doping in Russia was rife and that Russian federation chief Valentin Balakhnichev, who is also the IAAF’s treasurer, was implicated in a cover-up.

Balakhnichev has called the claims “a pack of lies” but the IAAF’s ethics committee is investigating the allegations.

Diack, the 81-year-old who is standing down as IAAF president in August, said however he does not anticipate the Russian federation being banned.

He told L’Equipe: “I’m on the case and I’ll know more at the end of the week. Let me deal with Valentin, who is both the president of the Russian Federation and my treasurer.”

Asked if Balakhnichev could be provisionally suspended, he added: “There is a procedure... but you can also, for example, have a position where he could say ’I withdraw from my duties until an investigation is concluded’. Let me deal with that.”

Diack was asked if he had already asked Balakhnichev to withdraw, but replied: “I can not answer.”

He added: “We are still at the stage of allegations. We do not take this as gospel. If we have a situation that leads us to sanction a federation for serious offences, then we will. But that is not anticipated.”

Meanwhile, the IAAF has rejected separate allegations by ARD claiming athletics’ world governing body turned a blind eye to suspicious blood tests involving 150 athletes, including a leading Briton.

ARD reported that a long-time member of the IAAF’s medical commission, whose identity has not been revealed, had a list of dozens of questionable blood values which were not followed up.

The alleged cases involved blood samples taken between 2006 and 2008 and were “highly suspicious” according to the unnamed medical commission member, but there was no follow-up involving target testing of the athletes involved by the IAAF’s doping department.

But the chairman of the IAAF medical and anti-doping commission Dr Juan Manuel Alonso said on Twitter that “blood samples taken before 2009 were thoroughly examined”.

It is claimed by ARD that many of the samples in question came from Russian athletes, but that three British athletes were also involved along with others from Kenya, Germany, Spain and Morocco.

Diack also described as “ridiculous” a report that his son appeared to request a payment of $5million during Doha’s failed bid for the 2017 world championships.