IPF STATEMENT TO ATHLETES, NATIONS AND THE MEDIA

STATUS OF THE RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN POWERLIFTING FEDERATIONS

All in the sporting world are aware that the single greatest moral issue facing sport today is that of doping.  Drugs in sport threaten to take away all meaning from sport, which has long represented the triumph of athletes maximizing their natural abilities. Artificial performance enhancers, to allow one cheating athlete to prevail over a hard-working competitor, destroy the beauty and value of sport as an ideal for all in society.

The International Powerlifting Federation, being the true governing body of a worldwide sport confronted with this problem, is unhesitatingly committed to contributing to the war on drugs in sport.  To that end, the IPF has in recent years accelerated its drug-testing campaign.  Both in competition and out-of-competition tests have been conducted, in the order of approx. 360 tests per year in the past few years and many positives have resulted.  All positives have been acted on, with suspensions imposed and where necessary cases have been fought through appeal processes.  Most importantly, the IPF has adopted the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code, has achieved the status of an Anti-Doping Organization with WADA and has faithfully followed the WADA Code in terms of testing, sanctioning and educational activities.

However the IPF has also chosen to go beyond the WADA Code in the fight against drugs, by instituting in the IPF regulatory statutes the capacity for the IPF, through its Executive Committee, to sanction and control Federations who’s athletes drug-testing records indicate a broader problem within that Federation.  On that basis, in 2003 to 2005, the IPF identified problems with the Russian and Ukraine Federations, in that those nations produced many positive in-competition results in that period.  To assess those Federations further, the IPF Executive ordered and conducted unannounced testing at the 2005 to 2006 Russian and Ukraine National Championships.  The results were totally unacceptable; with many positives tests and the IPF Executive had no hesitation in imposing a two year suspension on the Russian and Ukraine Powerlifting Federations.

Those federation-level suspensions were always intended by the IPF Executive to be constructive exercises.  That is, the two federations were informed that during the period of suspension their activities were to be monitored and they were expected to establish national drug-testing systems that are WADA-compliant.  The intention was that the suspensions would act as a powerful stimulus for the Russian and Ukraine Federations to establish a lasting programme for doping control within their nations, rather than for a punishment to be imposed but the underlaying problem to remain.

To that end the IPF Executive regularly monitored and met with the heads of the Russian and Ukraine Powerlifting Federations.  The Executive was heartened to see documentation indicating advances in those nations, in terms of national testing programmes and positive results being acted on with suspensions.  The Executive also took note of information from the governments of Russia and Ukraine, to the effect that the federations had been denied funding and support due to the suspensions and also risked de-recognition.  At that point, in June 2007, the IPF Executive considered that the original goal of achieving national doping control programmes in Russia and Ukraine had been at least substantially achieved and that there was real risk of a destructive effect occurring, in terms of a possible collapse of the two federations.

The decision was thus made to not cancel the suspensions, but to alter them to suspended sentences and also to elongate the suspended sentence for a further year.  Thus, if either the Russian or Ukraine Federation has a single international positive test result between now and 31^st December 2008 that federation will again be fully suspended through to that date.  The IPF Executive is aware that the political situation in both countries is such that a further suspension may well effectively destroy the federation concerned and the Executive is prepared to accept such a consequence.  Further, in addition to ongoing international in-competition testing, the IPF will conduct out-of-competition testing in Russia and Ukraine in 2007 and 2008, with the same draconian consequences for the federation flowing from any positive results in that testing.

Thus, in the case of Russia and Ukraine, the IPF Executive has taken the initiative by establishing federation-level sanctioning rules and powers, above and beyond even the requirements of the WADA Code and then rigorously pursuing two federations which had breached the standard expected by the IPF of its member nations.  However, the intent has been to punish and then rehabilitate, rather than to destroy those federations and this process is ongoing.  Russia and Ukraine remain under suspended sentence, with just one positive again triggering their suspension and possible destruction as federations.  Close management of the Russian and Ukraine Federations by the IPF Executive will continue through 2007 and 2008 and beyond.  Equally any other nation which fails to meet the standards expected by the IPF and the sporting world will also be dealt with firmly by the IPF.

Robert Wilks on behalf of the IPF Executive Committee