From Inside the Games

Major changes to the governance of world athletics, approved here today by the International Association of Athletics Federations Council, will make “a massive difference” to the sport, according to its President Sebastian Coe.

The new structures, covering areas such as integrity, anti-doping and disciplinary measures, will be put before the membership at an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 3.

In the meantime, Coe has defended the IAAF decision to rule Russia’s track and field athletes ineligible for international competition pending changes in the country’s anti-doping operation, maintaining that there had been a “cataclysmic failure” by Russia to “protect and oversee its athletes,.

He added: “We are working to reinstate Russia, but we have to ensure we have a level playing field.”

Asked to comment on the subject of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ruling that individual international federations should decide on selecting Russian competitors for the Games, Coe responded: “The IOC made a judgement that was endorsed by the IOC members and I’m not sure I can add much more to that.”

The crisis involving Russia plunged the IAAF into a constitutional crisis after French police arrested Coe’s predecessor as IAAF President, Lamine Diack, on suspicion of being part of a scheme to bribe Russian athletes to avoid being banned after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

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