Lamine Diack admits athletics facing a ‘crisis’

Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, has admitted the organization and the sport of athletics face a “crisis” over recent allegations of widespread doping in the sport.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, the 16-year president said he was “shocked” when he first heard about allegations of systematic doping of athletes in Russia. When asked if he believes this to be the worst crisis the sport has ever faced, Diack said “It’s a difficult crisis but we will put it behind us by cleaning all this.”

The sport has had its share of other drug scandals, some closely connected with Canada, most notably Ben Johnson’s positive test at the 1988 Olympic Games. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative.

Though Diack’s comment are mostly related to alleagations against Russia, many also believe Kenya has a problem of prevalent doping among the country’s talented pool of long distance athletes. Top marathoner Rita Jeptoo was recently handed a ban after testing positive for EPO.

Diack also noted he believes that, if an athlete is found to be using performance enhancing drugs as part of a larger scandal, coaches and those involved in planning need to also be punished.

The Senegalese IAAF head will end his career at the head of the organization in August of 2015, opening space for a new president. Many consider Sebastian Coe a top contender for filling the position. Coe has been openly outspoken in recent years about ramping up the fight against PED use in the sport.