by Alfonz Juck
Seb Coe and Renaud Lavillenie, Zurich 2016, photo by PhotoRun.net
Reforms approved
MONACO (MON): IAAF President Sebastian Coe must be satisfied as his proposal for needed and important reforms at Special IAAF Congress were confirmed by clear majority 182:10 votes. Referring to a year in which athletics has been mired in allegations of corruption that have seen former President Lamine Diack become the subject of a French police investigation, Coe told the 197 delegates at the start of the meeting: “We cannot let this happen again. We must protect our sport.” A total of 42 Federation members spoke before the Congress moved to the vote. The 10 votes against the reform package came from Benin, Bahrain, Chad, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. There were no votes recorded from Jamaica, Oman, Senegal, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Coe concluded: “This is a very important moment in the history of our sport.” The main changes will happen in”re-defining roles and responsibilities including empowering Member Federations and ensuring stronger Area representation”, “a greater voice for athletes”, “a better gender balance” and “independent anti-doping, integrity and disciplinary functions”. The bulk of the President’s power, used so autocratically, and then disastrously, down the years, will be devolved to the IAAF’s chief executive, a role to which Olivier Gers was appointed in August. The constitutional reform will be delivered in two stages, 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2019, issuing in a new era of transparent and accountable sports administration.
RunBlogRun opines: Seb Coe has the mandate he needs to push reform through. Curious on the no votes from Jamaica, Senegal, Ukraine. No votes are just bizarre. However, upgrading the IAAF, improving its approach to events, gender equality, and the development of an IAAF chief executive. We hear good things on Olivier Gers, will reach out to do an interview. One key observer noted, ” Olivier actually listened to me as if he wanted to learn. That is pretty unusual in this business.”
