Lord Coe set to defy select committee request over Russian corruption scandal
World athletics chief Lord Coe is set to defy a request to reappear before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee despite being summoned to answer further questions regarding his knowledge of IAAF corruption and Russian doping.
Chairman Damian Collins called for Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to face the committee before the end of January after hearing a testimony from former London marathon race director Dave Bedford.
Bedford’s evidence “presented clear and important questions”, according to Collins, about when Coe first became aware of Russian athlete Liliya Shobukhova being extorted for $450,000 by IAAF and Russian officials.
But an IAAF statement read: “Today’s evidence has offered nothing new to the committee’s inquiry into ‘Combatting Doping in Sport’.
“All information, including e-mails central to their questioning today were sent to their committee chair in June and acknowledged. Based upon this, Coe has no further information he can provide the inquiry.”
Coe, who was elected IAAF president in August 2015, says that he became aware of specific allegations of state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes and cover-ups when a documentary by German broadcaster ARD was aired on 3 December 2014.