Lagos – Gianni Merlo, President of International Sports Press Association (AIPS), has advised Sebastian Coe, President of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), to close the record books of doping.
In an open letter to Coe, the AIPS president said there was the need for a clean, radical change for new generations.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the letter was made public on Tuesday.
“Dear Lord Coe, just over a month ago you launched an online portal for reporting suspicions of doping.
“It is the latest move in the fight against doping, a step that is not easy, but one that is necessary if the fight against doping has come to this point.
“If it is as difficult as we all agree it is, then the moment has arrived to close the world record books in athletics and open new ones,” the letter read.
Merlo said this was necessary because many Olympic champions were being stripped of their medals and records.
“What we can see emerging is so many Olympic champions being stripped of their medals, their records.
“Given the doubts of the past that plague the sport, I think it would be healthy to begin a new era of athletics.
“That will give a new hope to coming generations,” he stated.
