From Inside the Games
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has closed an ethics investigation into President Sebastian Coe.
The IAAF found there was no basis on which “any disciplinary case could be established” that he had misled a British Parliamentary Committee over his knowledge of corruption and doping in Russia.
Coe was questioned by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee in December 2015, four months after being elected IAAF President, about the case.
Members of Parliament asked the Briton about an email he had forwarded on without reading, containing allegations on Russian marathon runner Liliya Shobukhova.
Sent by former world 10,000 metres record holder David Bedford, the email documented how Shobukhova had allegedly paid bribes in return for the covering up of positive drugs tests.
Coe, a double Olympic 1,500m gold medallist, insisted that he did not know the specific detail of it.
Although he confirmed receiving the email, he said he had forwarded it to the IAAF Ethics Board without reading the attachments.
The IAAF said in a statement, however, that the investigation into the matter had “not identified evidence of a potential breach of the Code of Ethics” by Coe.
Commenting on the closure of the case, Coe, previously an IAAF vice-president, said: “I want to thank the Ethics Board for all the work they do.
“When I became President of the IAAF, I promised greater transparency and integrity.
“I hope this demonstrates that no one is above the rules and everyone in the sport is subject to the same scrutiny.”
