Chris Froome: IAAF must copy cycling in fight against doping
IAAF needs to 'invest' says Tour de France champion
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tour de France champion Chris Froome believes athletics must follow cycling’s example and find the money to fight doping in the sport.
The International Association of Athletics Federations has been under fire since the leak of a database of 12,000 blood tests, involving 5,000 athletes, suggested doping has been widespread.
The IAAF spends £1.3m annually on anti-doping while cycling’s budget is nearer £6m. Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, provides part of those funds with the rest coming from the top teams.
Froome, fresh from his second Tour win last month, said athletics needed to change to stay ahead of the dopers. “From what I understand, the testing hasn’t been at the level that it is in cycling,” he told BBC Sport. “It is going to have to invest a lot more heavily in anti-doping. That would be a step in the right direction.”
Froome underlined how cycling has cleaned up its act in recent years. “I believe some things have changed quite substantially since the dark ages of 10 to 15 years ago, when the sport was really dirty,” he said. “The testing has really evolved and the UCI has now implemented 24-hour testing. I have every confidence that the system now really works.” In contrast, an investigation by The Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD appeared to show that athletics was struggling in its battle to rid the sport of doping.
Lord Coe, who is bidding to be elected IAAF president, told CNN yesterday: “We’ve chased some of the biggest names out of the sport and that doesn’t come without a cost. The reputational damage to a sport for actually weeding out the cheats is quite profound, but we’ve still been prepared to do it.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments