FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Athlete Integrity Unit And Abbott World Marathon Majors Announce New
Intelligence And Testing Program In Groundbreaking Anti-Doping Initiative
02 April 2019: The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and the Abbott World
Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) today revealed a groundbreaking extensive new
anti-doping investigation and intelligence-driven testing program in a
landmark moment in the drive for a clean sport.
Since it was founded in 2017 by the IAAF, the AIU has worked closely with
the AbbottWMM organization, which comprises six of the most prestigious
marathons in the world: Tokyo Marathon, Boston Marathon, Virgin Money
London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and
TCS New York City Marathon.
With the integrity of marathon running at the forefront of their work, the
AbbottWMM, which was formed in 2006, began working with the former IAAF
Medical and Anti-Doping Department in 2013, and the AIU has continued the
operations since their inception in 2017. Additional funding is now being
invested by the AbbottWMM to support this cutting edge program based on
intelligence and testing.
During 2018, the AIU conducted extensive analysis of the risks to the
integrity of athletics and road running and consequently devised the
program which puts a higher focus on the best elite athletes, utilizing
intelligence to ensure that the right athletes are tested at the right
time.
Tim Hadzima, Executive Director of AbbottWMM, said: "The Abbott World
Marathon Majors is proud of its zero-tolerance policy on doping and its
proactive work investing in and supporting anti-doping programs. We are
constantly reviewing the program with the AIU and the future clearly
requires a strong focus on intelligence and investigative capability. We
are working with the experts in the AIU to set the pace for road racing."
David Howman, Chairman of the AIU, said: "The AbbottWMM races have shown
they are not interested in a 'tick the box' approach to anti-doping or
playing the numbers game of more and more tests. They are deeply invested
in catching cheaters, identifying the risk to their races, understanding
the root causes of doping and doing something about it."
"By supporting the enhanced programme, the AbbottWMM has underlined their
commitment for clean sport and set an example for the industry. This
program is world-leading and will ensure the AbbottWMM races are among the
very best regulated sporting events in the world when it comes to
anti-doping," added Howman.
In accordance with the AIU's recommendation, the program continues to
involve a testing pool of 150 elite runners, with a shift to an emphasis on
intelligence led testing.
About the Athletics Integrity Unit:
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the independent body, created by the
IAAF that manages all integrity issues - both doping and non-doping - for
the sport of athletics. The remit of the AIU includes anti-doping, the
pursuit of individuals engaged in age or competition results manipulation,
investigating fraudulent behaviour with regards to transfers of allegiance,
and detecting other misconduct including bribery and breaches of betting
rules.
It is the AIU's role to drive cheats out of our sport, and to do everything
within its power to support honest athletes around the world who dedicate
their lives to reaching their sporting goals through dedication and hard
work.
About Abbott World Marathon Majors:
The Abbott World Marathon Majors (AbbottWMM) is a series of six of the
largest and most renowned marathons in the world - Tokyo Marathon, B.A.A.
Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Bank of
America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.
Encompassing an annual series for elite runners and elite wheelchair
athletes, AbbottWMM also applauds the achievements and passion of everyday
champions from around the world. The new AbbottWMM Six Star System is an
online results hub that celebrates every runner who has completed from one
to six of the races in the series and encourages them to 'Reach For The
Stars'.
The AbbottWMM has also launched AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Rankings -
our first ever global age group marathon ranking system. Qualifying began
in Berlin in September 2018 and will include more than 50 races across the
world over a 12-month period. The rankings will culminate at the first
AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship race taking place in spring
2020.
For more information, visit www.Abbottwmm.com
###
|
