Russian and Kenyan athletes have come under scrutiny following reports that eighteen of them have won medals under suspicious circumstances.
The Sunday Times and German broadcaster have got access to the results of 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012, and it is said that 80 per cent of the Russian athletes had suspicious tests, prompting the intervention of the World Anti-doping Association (Wada).
Wada will now investigate the claims in the Germany broadcast documentary “Doping-Top Secrets: The shadowy World Athletes”, which gives details of” extraordinary extent of cheating” by athletes at the world’s biggest events.
Wada president Sir Craig Reedie said that his organisation was disturbed by the allegations and will shake the foundation of clean athletes worldwide.
The files leaked by a whistle blower belong to the world athletics governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).
IAAF said the data was obtained without their consent and that it reserved the right to take action.
Sunday Times and the German broadcaster used two of the world’s ‘leading anti-doping specialists’, scientists Robin Parisotto and Michael Ashen Den, to review the data.
Conferring to the specialists, the file exposes more than 800 athletes – one in seven of those named in the files – to have recorded blood tests described by one of the experts as “highly suggestive of drugging or at the very least abnormal”
Russia emerges as “the blood testing epicentre of the world” with more than 80% of the countries medals won by suspicious athletes, while Kenya had 18 medals won by suspicious athletes.
A third of medals (146, including 55 gold) in fortitude events at the Olympics and World Finals between 2001 and 2012 were obtained by players who have noted doubtful tests. It alleged none of these athletes have been stripped of their medals. The best UK athlete is among seven Britons with mistrustful blood scores.
Britain athletes – comprising of Olympic champion heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill – have lost out in main events to participants who were beneath suspicion. London 2012 Olympics had ten medals won by athletes who have suspicious test fallouts.
In particular finals, each athlete in the three medal positions had documented a suspicious blood test. Athletes such as Britain’s Mo Farah and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt recorded no abnormal results.
Competitors are gradually using blood transfusions and EPO micro-doses to boost the red cell count.
“Certainly not have I seen such terrifyingly strange set of blood values. So many participants appear to have doped with exemption, and it is critical that the IAAF appears to have vainly sat by and let this happen.” Parisotto said:
According to Ashen den, the files show that athletics is now in the same “diabolical position” as cycling during the Lance Armstrong era. He said it was “a shameful betrayal of IAAF’s primary duty to police their sport and to protect clean athletes”.
Over the past two decades Kenyan athletes have dominated the long distance races and the current doping concern has emerged just weeks ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China later this month.
