Paula Radcliffe says "war on drugs" is far from over and calls for tough sanctions on systematic doping programmes

Alex Broun 15:40 24/01/2018
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  • British athletics legend Paula Radcliffe has declared that the war on doping “is not won” and called for sterner action to be imposed immediately on countries where alleged  systemic doping of athletes is still occurring.

    “I don’t think it’s any secret of the levels of doping that have been uncovered in the likes of Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey, Morocco, East Africa,” said Radcliffe, who is in the UAE for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on Friday.

    “The levels of violations are starting to come through, but it wasn’t shown to be systemic as it was, and as state controlled as it was in Russia – that’s why the actions that have been taken against Russia have been like that.

    “But I think if it’s above a certain number then that country has to take responsibility, take ownership of it and do something to try and help the fight and move forward and show that its not something that is tolerated in their country and it won’t be accepted and tolerated within our sport.”

    The 2005 marathon world champion and gold medalist at the 2002 Commonwealth games in Manchester says that the actions of these countries and athletes have “tainted” the sport.

    “It’s something that I feel has tainted a sport that I love very much” said the 44-year-old, “and I think by association the credibility of the athletes who work very hard day in day out is tainted by that minority.

    “And unfortunately it’s a minority that’s too big but it is a minority and it’s something we need to do more (to stamp out). I’d like to do more to give back to protect those clean athletes to protect the sport.”

    Officials and competitors alongside Paula Radcliffe at Wednesday's press conference

    Officials and competitors alongside Paula Radcliffe at Wednesday’s press conference

    Radcliffe, who now resides in Monaco, said she felt sympathy for clean Russian athletes, who have also been banned from the upcoming Winter Games in South Korea.

    “Any athlete would have sympathy for athletes in that position,” she said. “It’s very unfair that any clean athlete would be put in a situation where they’re not able to take part (in the games). Unfortunately because of the severity of the infractions that were taken part in by the Russians (that has been the result).

    “But we have to underline that there are other countries that are probably getting close to that (level of doping), there are other people that elsewhere in the world that are cheating like that – they need to be punished in the same way and they need to be got after. In the same way.

    “We have to underline that it won’t be accepted in our sport and we have to make the deterrents greater and that means for Russia at the moment, that there was so much evidence of the state backed system and the systemic doping system that was going on, the manipulation and the undermining of the rules of our sport, the dis-respect for the other athletes and our sport – this was the step that had to be taken.”

    Radcliffe called for greater financial sanctions on countries found to be cheating.

    “As I say there are other countries that need to have the same sanctions imposed and I’d like to see more of a financial sanction imposed on all cheats, so they pay back more to our sport and that goes into the anti-doping budget.

    “And when federations surpass a certain number of doping (violations), or when it’s shown to be systemic as it was in Russia, then fines are paid before they are able to come back and compete.

    “The battle against doping is definitely not won – it’s moving forward but I think it needs a lot greater investment.

    “It needs a lot better education and the deterrents need to be bigger so that when, unfortunately, there is always going to be that incentive to dope, we have to make it harder and harder for them to get away with it and work harder to protect the majority of the athletes who are the clean athletes because they have a right to be protected and to be able to compete on a fair and level playing field.

    “Not to suffer because of the action of other people around them.”

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