'Nothing to hide over world athletics bid'

London - The world championship bids under investigation include 2017, where London defeated Qatari capital Doha in the final vote.

By AFP

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Published: Fri 15 Jan 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sat 16 Jan 2016, 12:33 PM

British athletics' senior administrator has insisted London has "nothing to hide" over its successful bid to stage the 2017 World Championships.
Police in France and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) itself are investigating the bidding procedures used in seven world championships since 2009, amid allegations the global governing body was involved in widespread corruption and the covering up of several doping cases.
The world championship bids under investigation include 2017, where London defeated Qatari capital Doha in the final vote.
But UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said on Friday: "All I know is that London's bid was completely by the book and through the front door in a classically British way.
"We have nothing to hide and we would be delighted to spend any amount of time going through our processes with the investigators if that helps root out any miscreants."
Asked if he would be willing to make all of UKA's relevant emails and documents available to investigators, Warner said: "Absolutely."
He added: "It's right that these things are fair battles and the right city wins for the good of the sport and nothing more.
"There has been a very unhealthy smell at Fifa with some of football's World Cup bids and now it appears there may be some of that stench with some IAAF world championships - and that is very unpleasant."
The Interpol global police association has issued an international alert for Papa Massata Diack, son of Lamine Diack the 82-year-former IAAF president now facing corruption and money laundering charges in France.
A World Anti-Doping Agency report published on Thursday said that corruption was "embedded" at the IAAF athletics body, piling pressure on its new leader Sebastian Coe. The report said the IAAF must have known about the corruption. 


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