hen-IAAF President Lamine Diack, pictured on August 14, 2009, is provisionally suspended from the International Olympic Committee (AFP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini)
LAUSANNE, November 10 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday provisionally suspended former IAAF president Lamine Diack as an honorary member and threatened sanctions against any athlete or coach found to have been doping.
Diack, 82, was head of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) for 16 years until August and was arrested by French investigators and charged with corruption last week amid allegations he took bribes to cover up doping cases, principally in Russia.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Monday published a report which was highly critical of Russian athletics.
“The IOC’s Executive Board decided this afternoon (Tuesday) to confirm the proposal of the IOC Ethics Commission to provisionally suspend Mr. Lamine Diack, the former President of IAAF, from his honorary membership of the IOC,” the IOC said in a statement.
The IOC also asked the IAAF to “initiate disciplinary procedures against all athletes, coaches and officials who have participated in the Olympic Games and are accused of doping in the report of the (WADA) Independent Commission”.
“With its zero-tolerance policy against doping, following the conclusion of this procedure, the IOC will take all the necessary measures and sanctions with regard to the withdrawal and reallocation of medals and as the case may be exclusion of coaches and officials from future Olympic Games.”
