IAAF Global Athletics (© IAAF)
Here follows a summary of the major decisions and topics discussed at last weekend's IAAF Council meeting at the Hotel Intercontinental, Berlin, 22-23 November.
IAAF Council agreed that both Olympic Shot Put events will take place in Olympia, either on 18 or 19 August 2004, with both medal ceremonies taking place on 20 August in the Athens Olympic Stadium.
Following the further testing of 402 samples from the IAAF World Championships in Paris, a total of 2 “A” test positives have been discovered. No names or nationalities were released according to IAAF procedures.
Council approved the following cities as hosts for future IAAF World Athletics Series Events:
2006 IAAF World Cross Country Championships - Fukuoka, Japan
2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships - Moscow, Russia
2006 IAAF World Race Walking Cup - La Coruna, Spain
2006 IAAF World Junior Championships - Beijing, China
2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup - Cheboksary, Russia
Discussion of new IAAF Anti-doping Rules
Prof Arne Ljungqvist (SWE) and Lauri Tarasti (FIN) introduced a draft of the new IAAF Anti-Doping Rules following the Congress decision to adapt the WADA Code as the basis for the fight against doping.
Many of the proposed changes are structural, organisational or stylistic, but the scope of the IAAF anti-doping legislation will now include, not only athletes but athlete support personnel including coaches, managers, team staff and officials, doctors etc. It is also proposed that the “B” sample analysis must take place no later than 21 days after the athlete has been notified of the “A” result. At present, the rules allow for a maximum period of 48 days between notification of the “A” test result and analysis of the “B” sample.
The final version of the rules is expected to be revised in the next 10 days and introduced on 1 March 2004.
IAAF Competition Commission Report
Chairman Dapeng Lou (CHN) presented a report which was approved by Council. The Olympic Games Entry Standards, which were approved at the Council Meeting in Dakar last April, were slightly amended to reflect current performance levels and to facilitate the target figure of 2000 athletes for the Athens Games.
2004 Olympic Games Entry Standards (Changes in bold)
Men |
Event |
Women |
||
A Standard |
B Standard |
A Standard |
B Standard | |
10.21 |
10.28 |
100m |
11.30 |
11.40 |
20.59 |
20.75 |
200m |
22.97 |
23.13 |
45.55 |
45.95 |
400m |
51.50 |
52.30 |
1:46.00 |
1:47.00 |
800m |
2:00.00 |
2:01.30 |
3:36.20 |
3:38.00 |
1500m |
4:05.80 |
4:07.15 |
13:21.50 |
13:25.40 |
5000m |
15:08.70 |
15:20.45 |
27:49.00 |
28:06.00 |
10,000m |
31:45.00 |
32:17.00 |
2.15.00 |
2.18.00 |
Marathon |
2.37.00 |
2.42.00 |
8:24.60 |
8:32.00 |
3000m SC |
||
13.55 |
13.72 |
110mH/100mH |
12.96 |
13.11 |
49.20 |
49.50 |
400mH |
55.60 |
56.25 |
1:23.00 |
1:24:30 |
20km Race Walk |
1:33:30 |
1:38:00 |
4:00:00 |
4:07:00 |
50km Race Walk |
||
Best 16 |
4x100m |
Best 16 | ||
Best 16 |
4x400m |
Best 16 | ||
8000 |
7700 |
Decathlon/ |
6050 |
5900 |
2.30 |
2.27 |
High Jump |
1.95 |
1.91 |
5.65 |
5.55 |
Pole Vault |
4.40 |
4.25 |
8.19 |
8.05 |
Long Jump |
6.70 |
6.55 |
16.95 |
16.55 |
Triple Jump |
14.20 |
14.00 |
20.30 |
20.00 |
Shot Put |
18.55 |
17.15 |
64.00 |
62.55 |
Discus Throw |
61.00 |
57.70 |
78.65 |
74.35 |
Hammer Throw |
67.50 |
64.00 |
81.80 |
77.80 |
Javelin Throw |
60.50 |
56.00 |
CONDITIONS :
1. All performances (except for the Marathon Races) must be achieved during the qualification period of 1 January 2003 to 9 August 2004 (midnight-local time). The qualification period for the Marathon Race runs from 1 September 2002 till 9 August 2004.
2. All performances (except for the Relays) must be achieved during competitions organised or authorised by IAAF, its Area Associations or its National Member Federations. Thus, results achieved at university or school competitions must be certified by the National Federation of the country in which the competition was organised.
3. All performances must be achieved during an official competition organised in conformity with IAAF Rules
4. Performances achieved in mixed events between male and female participants, held completely in the Stadium, will not be accepted (see IAAF Rule 147).
5. Wind-assisted performances will not be accepted.
6. Hand-timed performances in 100m, 200m, 400m, 110m/100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles and 4x100m relay will not be accepted.
7. Indoor performances for all field events and for races of 200m and longer, will be accepted.
8. Lower ages limit: for the Marathon Races and the 50km Race Walk Men, senior athletes only (any athlete aged 20 years and over on 31 December 2004) will be accepted.
9. Marathon:
- the first 20 runners in both, Men’s and in the Women’s Marathon, in the World Championships in Athletics of Paris 2003 will be considered as having met the ‘A’ entry standard.
- the performances must have been achieved on proper measured courses
10. Relays: the best 16 National Teams will qualify in each Relay Event on the basis of the average of their best 2 performances achieved in competitions sanctioned by IAAF or by the Area Associations and recorded during the period of 1 January 2003 to 21 July 2004.
Transfer of Allegiance
It was also agreed that the Transfer of Allegiance Working Group, set up after the last Council meeting to study the growing problem linked to changes of nationalities (more than 100 athletes have changed nationality in the last 4 years) should be given more time to complete their mandate. Council accepted that it needed to consider a basic review of rules to overcome the deficiencies in the current system.
No Indoor 200m races from 2006
Following examination of the results from the last World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, it was clear that top performances depended solely on the lane draw. In the great majority of cases, winner and runner up came from lanes 5 and 6. Council agreed, following a recommendation of the Commission, that the 200m event be cancelled from the World Indoor Championships’ programme, starting in 2006.
IAAF Development Commission Report
Chairman Amadeo Francis (PUR) introduced the report of the IAAF Development Commission, and announced that 24% of the IAAF’s budget would be devoted to development in 2004. Projects include:
- The introduction of a new “Academy” for coaches, and an international Code of Ethics for Coaches which is being considered by a working group consisting of Helmut Digel (GER), Teddy McCook (JAM) and Hansjörg Wirz (SUI). The structure of 6 Area Coaching Associations will also be consolidated, in co-operation with the new IAAF Coaches’ Commission;
- Identifying and selecting 50 athletes to train at IAAF High Performance and other accredited Training Centres with IAAF or Olympic Solidarity grants;
- Assisting 5 Member Federations who have existing projects to build synthetic tracks;
- Introducing U-23 Championships in Asia and South America;
- Working with Governments to introduce athletics in the school curricula.
2004 World Indoor Championships Progress Report
The event which will take place in Budapest’s Sportarena, a state of the art indoor facility, seating 6600, which was completed in spring 2003 but has already hosted major sports’ events (World Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics, and Ice Hockey) and pop concerts. The track laid for the Championships has been specially designed with wide bends, and banking of 10% gradient, in an effort to give athletes a better chance to produce optimal performances in running events.
“This is the first time we have held a World Indoor Championships in an Olympic year and this event will be the IAAF’s biggest before Athens. We are very confident that our colleagues in Budapest, with our close support, will organise a spectacular competition.”
2004 World Cross Country Progress Report
During the progress report from Brussels 2004, Council Members were reminded that the IAAF World Cross Country Championships was returning to Belgium for the fourth time, a clear sign of that country’s deep affection for cross country running. The promotional campaign begins in December with a series of press conferences throughout the winter, backed up by a poster and TV advertising campaign to encourage as many spectators as possible. The course, which has a 2 km lap, is located in the park of the King’s Palace – a former venue for the annual Brussels IAAF cross country permit – and very convenient for athletes and officials who will be accommodated within walking distance.
Although the course has no more than a maximum of 25 metres difference in elevation, it is likely that the traditional Belgian weather will ensure “traditional” cross country conditions for the runners. The competition will be shown live on national TV and 30% of the Belgian public are expected to tune in.
2004 World Race Walking Cup Progress Report
Axel Wladimiroff, with the assistance of 1988 Olympic women’s Discus Champion Martina Hellman, presented a progress report from Naumburg, venue of the next edition of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in 2004.
Council learned that the city first dreamed of promoting a world class walking event more than 10 years ago and the enthusiasm has not dimmed. Naumburg can be considered as a cradle of race walking in Germany and aims to put on a superbly organised and exciting competition which will reinforce the status of race walking as an integral part of the athletics’ programme.
IAAF
