Anti-doping chiefs deny blood data leak as Coe says: this is war
ATHLETICS’ doping row has taken another twist after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) denied provoking the storm by leaking thousands of blood test results.
Embattled governing body the IAAF emphasised this week that none of its employees had passed on the data, as it denounced claims that it had failed to act on mountains of suspicious findings.
Wada yesterday followed suit, saying that it “condemns the leak of confidential information” which it said had not come from its database of athlete blood values.
Britain’s Lord Coe, an IAAF vice-president who hopes to be elected to the top job this month, waded into the controversy yesterday, arguing that critics had “declared war” on the sport.
Coe insisted that the IAAF had “consistently led the way” on anti-doping and criticised the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR for “wide of the mark” suggestions that irregular blood tests equated to doping.
Former pole vaulter and Coe’s election rival Sergei Bubka called on the sport to be “more proactive and even more transparent” in efforts to tackle cheating.