The Sunday Times and German
broadcaster ARD/WRD have obtained
access to the results of 12,000 blood
tests from 5,000 athletes.
According to the newspaper, the
evidence - which has been seen by the
BBC - reveals the "extraordinary
extent of cheating" by athletes at the
world's biggest events.
Wada's independent commission will
investigate the claims in the ARD/WRD
documentary Doping - Top Secret: The
Shadowy World of Athletics.
Wada president Sir Craig Reedie said
his organisation was "very disturbed
by these new allegations... which will,
once again, shake the foundation of
clean athletes worldwide".
The files belong to world governing
body the International Association of
Athletics Federations (IAAF), but have
been leaked by a whistle-blower.
The Sunday Times and ARD/WRD used
two of the world's "foremost anti-
doping experts", scientists Robin
Parisotto and Michael Ashenden, to
review the data.
According to the experts, the
database reveals:
A third of medals (146, including 55
golds) in endurance events at the
Olympics and World
Championships between 2001 and
2012 were won by athletes who
have recorded suspicious tests. It
is claimed none of these athletes
have been stripped of their
medals.
More than 800 athletes - one in
seven of those named in the files -
have recorded blood tests
described by one of the experts as
"highly suggestive of doping or at
the very least abnormal".
A top UK athlete is among seven
Britons with suspicious blood
scores.
British athletes - including
Olympic champion heptathlete
Jessica Ennis-Hill - have lost out
in major events to competitors
who were under suspicion.
Ten medals at London 2012 were
won by athletes who have dubious
test results.
In some finals, every athlete in the
three medal positions had
recorded a suspicious blood test.
Russia emerges as "the blood
testing epicentre of the world"
with more than 80% of the
country's medals won by
suspicious athletes, while Kenya
had 18 medals won by suspicious
athletes.
Stars such as Britain's Mo Farah
and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt
recorded no abnormal results.
Athletes are increasingly using
blood transfusions and EPO micro-
doses to boost the red cell count.
More on alleged doping in athletics
Athletics faces
'crisis' admits
IAAF chief Diack
Ukad confirms
Salazar doping
investigation
Doping claims a
new 'wounding
blow'
Meadows says
Russia claims
could 'kill'
athletics
Parisotto said: "Never have I seen
such an alarmingly abnormal set of
blood values. So many athletes
appear to have doped with impunity,
and it is damning that the IAAF
appears to have idly sat by and let
this happen."
According to Ashenden, the files show
that athletics is now in the same
"diabolical position" as cycling
during the Lance Armstrong era. He
said it was "a shameful betrayal of
[the IAAF's] primary duty to police
their sport and to protect clean
athletes".
The evidence is not proof of doping -
but the revelations will raise more
serious questions over whether the
sport is doing enough to combat
cheating ahead of the World Athletics
Championships in Beijing later this
month.
The IAAF is due to elect a new
president in just over two weeks, with
Britain's Lord Coe the favourite to win
the election against Sergey Bubka. Coe
has made independent testing a key
part of his manifesto.
Former Olympic pole vault champion
Bubka, now IAAF vice-president, told
the BBC: "We will not stop the fight.
We know that in the 21st century
doping is the biggest danger and
there will be zero tolerance. If we
need to strengthen our rules and
regulations we will do it."
Athletics' world governing body,
which has not disputed the
authenticity of the database, told the
Sunday Times: "The IAAF has always
been at the forefront in combating
anti-doping, searching and
implementing new analytical
techniques and methodologies."
The IAAF said that before the
introduction in 2009 of the biological
passport - which monitors
longitudinal blood values - its testers
had "systematically pursued" all
results that were deemed "atypical"
with immediate urine tests for EPO
and then target-tested those athletes
in and out of competition.
Since the introduction of the
passport, the IAAF says it has
"pursued more cases under the
passport system than all other anti-
doping organisations together", and
is spending $2m a year on combating
cheating. "As a percentage of overall
annual budget this is the highest of
any sport," it added.
There can be various reasons for
abnormal blood samples other than
performance-enhancing drugs.
Illness, altitude training and
pregnancy can all influence values.
The latest claims come after a
turbulent few months for athletics.
In December, ARD/WRD alleged
systematic doping in Russian
athletics and implicated the IAAF in
covering up the problem. The Russian
Athletics Federation called the
allegations lies, and IAAF president
Lamine Diack denied any collusion,
although he did admit to the BBC that
his sport was "in crisis". Both the IAAF
and Wada are investigating the
allegations.
The German documentary-makers also
claimed an unnamed member of the
IAAF medical commission had a list of
150 suspicious blood samples from
2001 to 2008 that were not
investigated. Diack described this as
"ridiculous".
The IAAF insisted that the whistle-
blower would not have known if
follow-up tests had been conducted
and pointed out that its athlete
biological passport scheme was only
launched in 2009 and samples before
that date did "not have the same level
of reliability and strength as the
post-2009 values which were
collected under strict and stringent
conditions".
In June, the BBC's Panorama
programme alleged that Mo Farah's
coach Alberto Salazar violated
various anti-doping rules with other
athletes. He denies the allegations,
and there is no suggestion that
double Olympic champion Farah was
guilty of any wrongdoing. UK Anti-
Doping and the US Anti-Doping Agency
are investigating the claims.
Although it was one of the first sports
to introduce the biological passport,
athletics has a chequered history of
drug scandals, from East Germany's
years of state-sponsored doping
through to the Balco affair in 2002.
These latest claims could lead to
renewed calls for countries to be
banned from international
competition, and there will be more
scrutiny of powerhouse athletics
nations like Russia and Kenya. In
January, marathon champion Rita
Jeptoo became the 45th Kenyan to fail
a doping test, while 25 Russian
walkers have been suspended for
doping offences in the past six years.
London 2012's reputation as the
cleanest Games in 50 years will also
be questioned, as the sport struggles
to assert its credibility and
reputation.
BBC SPORT
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