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WORDS FROM THE CHAIRMAN

Greetings, athletes!

Summer is upon us, and with the outdoor season in full swing, it’s my pleasure to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best as you strive for excellence. Athletics is both intensely challenging and immensely fulfilling; I and everyone at the Athletics Integrity Unit feel the greatest admiration and respect for the efforts you make to achieve greatness in your sport. 

Our purpose is to make sure that the integrity of that sport is respected at every turn. #CleanSport is the goal of everything we do, and it is the responsibility of all to make sure that the field of play is fair for all.

With the first edition of this quarterly newsletter dedicated to athletes - #MySportMyIntegrity –  we are trying to provide you with all the information and insights into issues that may impact the integrity of our sport. And what everyone in the sport - the IAAF, AIU, and your national federation - is doing to ensure a fair and level playing field for you to excel.

We want to hear from you! To that end will be setting up our outreach stand - Athletics Integrity Hub - at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 this autumn. We’ll be delighted to make your acquaintance, to answer any questions, and let you know more about what we aim to do for you. Please stop by at the Athletics Integrity Hub and say hello!

David Howman - Chairman of the Athletics Integrity Unit Board 

The AIU and our partners the Qatar Anti-Doping Commission will be on hand at the Khalifa International Stadium, at your team hotels and the Athletics Integrity Hub as the competition unfolds at the IAAF World Athletics Championships 28 September - 06 October.

You can get to know about a whole range of issues that impact the integrity of the sport of athletics such as doping, manipulation of competitions, illegal betting/gambling, creating awareness of reporting and redress mechanisms for issues such as harassment and abuse, including sexual harassment; how you as athletes can protect yourself and how we at AIU can be of help.

Along with the AIU Board members and staff, some members of the IAAF Athletes' Commission will also be around to listen to you and answer any questions you may have.

Please be sure to come and check us out in Doha. We’ll be waiting for you and want to talk to you to get your feedback as well as understand how the AIU can best serve you. 

Competition Manipulation is any attempt to control the outcome of a competition or alter the natural course of a sporting event, or a part of it. It can be committed for sporting or financial gains, often via illegal betting or gambling, or a number of other purposes.

Be vigilant. If you suspect that anyone might be doing something that could unfairly influence the outcome of a competition, report it to the Athletics Integrity Unit and/or to your National Federation.

The information sheet below provides a summary of what the rules are regarding competition manipulation and how you, as an athlete, can protect yourself. 

In order to develop methods to prevent doping, the WADA-accredited laboratories are constantly doing scientific research. You can contribute to our joint efforts to combat doping in our sport by consenting to your samples being used for research purposes after the analyses is completed (when your sample would otherwise be discarded under normal circumstances).

When you provide consent for helping this research, we guarantee: 

• Your samples will be 100% deidentified, so they can never be traced back to you. 
• The research process is entirely separate from the anti-doping analysis aspect of the laboratory work.

Just a tick in the box on the doping control form giving your consent will go a long way in helping us get closer to ensuring a level playing field for all athletes in future. 

“An educational newsletter dedicated to athletes is an excellent initiative from the Athletics Integrity Unit. It is in every athlete's interest to go through this carefully as I am sure you will benefit from it. I would also encourage you all to share it with your peers as this useful resource needs to reach far and wide.”  

Iñaki Gómez - Chairman of the IAAF Athletes' Commission

You’re not alone out there. Your National Federation is now accountable for the fight against doping. It hasn’t always been this way but as of 01 January this year, the AIU has been collaborating with IAAF Member Federations to improve the levels of testing and increase education in many countries, furthering the fight against doping.

The primary objective of the National Federation Obligations Rule: making sure all federations have strong, compliant anti-doping programmes.

Find out how it affects you in the video below.

We would like to hear back from you. Your views will help us shape the education that we along with our continental and national partners aspire to offer to you, your fellow athletes and your support personnel. 

Thanks for reading! 

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.

Athletics Integrity Unit
1st Floor, 6 Quai Antoine 1er, MC 98007 Monaco

E: info@athleticsintegrity.org
T: +33 187 169 630