IAAF RATIFIES WORLD RECORDS

15 December, 2000 MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF has officially ratified the following world records:
Junior Women Set Indoors: Pole Vault 4.45m Yelena Isinbayeva 82 RUS Volgograd 4 Feb 2000
Junior Women Pole Vault 4.40m Yelena Isinbayeva 82 RUS Tula 24 July 2000
Outdoor Women 20,000m Race Walking 1:35:23.7 Kristina Saltanovic LIT Kaunas 3 Aug 2000
( Isinbayeva broke the previous pole vault outdoor mark of 4.36 metres, set by Yvonne Buschbaum of Germany in June 1999. The performance of Saltanovic bettered the previous record of 1:37:19.1 set by China's Ailing Xue in 18 September 1999.)

THE IAAF ARBITRATION PANEL ENDS SUSPENSION OF MERLENE OTTEY
WHO BECOMES IMMEDIATELY ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE

3 July, 2000 - MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Arbitration Panel - composed of Christoph Vedder (GER), Chairman, Monty Hacker (RSA)  and James Michael Murphy (USA), members - has today communicated its decision regarding the Jamaican athlete Merlene Ottey, following the hearing held in Monte Carlo on 16-17 June.

The panel has decided that there were not the grounds to maintain the suspension of Merlene Ottey from competition and accordingly the suspension, applied in conformity with Rule 59.2, ended with immediate effect.

The Jamaican athlete was the subject of an adverse finding on 5 July 1999 in Lucerne, Switzerland. The Arbitration Panel considered that the testing laboratory had not taken into sufficient account factors regarding the specific gravity of the sample, which as a result did not exceed the IOC recommended reporting threshold.

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Arbitration Panel, made up of Chairman Christoph Vedder and members Loh Lin Kok and Affimar Cabo Verde Filho has today announced its decision in the case of Cuban high jumper Javier Sotomayor.

On the basis of the Panel's deliberations, Javier Sotomayor has been found to have committed a doping offence on 31 July 1999 and, accordingly, the decision taken by the Hearing Board of the Cuban Athletics Federation on 6 August 1999  has been judged to be erroneous.

In accordance with IAAF Rule 60.2 (a)(i) Javier Sotomayor is declared ineligible to compete from 31 July 1999 to 30 July 2001.

27 June 2000 - MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Marion Jones (USA) and Hicham El Guerrouj from Morocco are the two athletes heading the IAAF World Rankings.

The American star totalled an average of 1429.74 points (calculated on the 100m, 200m and long jump), just ahead of the Romanian middle distance runner Gabriela Szabo (1425.87) and Jones's compatriot Inger Miller (1418.23 points).

Hicham El Guerrouj, whose 1487 points were calculated on the basis of his performances in 1500m, 2000m, 3000m and the mile, is followed by the American athletes Maurice Greene (1483.23 points) and Michael Johnson (1459.92).

The IAAF World Rankings, which were officially presented in Paris last week, on the occasion of the IAAF Golden League Meeting Gaz de France Paris St-Denis, is formulated on the basis of the best five performances achieved, in this instance, between 27 June 1999 and 26 June 2000. The points accumulated are then corrected using a formula that takes into account the race conditions: electric or manual timing, wind readings (positive or negative), the category of the competition, placing and type of event (e.g. 100m or 60m indoor, 1500 or mile, 3000m/2000m steeplechase etc.).

In the men's Overall Ranking, fourth place is held by Kenyan athlete Noah Ngeny, last year's track revelation, who rates higher than the world champion and world record holder in the 800m, Wilson Kipketer (DEN), the world pole vault champion Maksim Tarasov (RUS) and Haile Gebrselassie (ETH). In 100th place, today, is the French Olympic pole vault champion, Jean Galfione.

In the women's Overall Rankings, fourth place goes to Svetlana Masterkova (RUS), Olympic champion in both 800m and 1500m. Two hurdlers occupy the 5th and 6th positions: Deon Hemmings (JAM) and Nezha Biduoane (MAR). The great American athlete Gail Devers, one of the most-medalled at the World Championships and the Olympics, is currently in twelfth position, ahead of Gete Wami from Ethiopia. In 100th position is Germany's Nadine Kleinert-Schmitt, silver medallist at the World Championships in Seville
last year and at this year's European indoors, in the shot put.

The complete IAAF World Rankings are available on the IAAF Web  site: http://www.iaaf.org/Results/index.asp?Filename=/Results/Rankings/index.html

26 June, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The names of two athletes - one man and one woman - currently leading the world will be announced tomorrow, with the publication of the IAAF World Rankings.

In addition to the publication of the overall ranking of the top 100 men and 100 women, rankings will also be published for the top 50 in each event category. A text file will also be available on the IAAF web site with the  top 100 ranked athletes for each event group and the top 1000 overall rankings for men and women.

During a press conference given by the President of the IAAF, Lamine Diack, the System's developer, Dr Bojidar Spiriev of Hungary, presented the IAAF World Ranking System to the international press in Paris last Friday. The system converts to points the results achieved by athletes in their various disciplines, taking into account various factors, such as wind readings (positive or negative), the result, the level of the meeting (Championships/Grand Prix, etc.) and an eventual record performance.

IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai, announced that the Rankings -  both overall and individual - will be continually updated and published weekly (Tuesdays) throughout the outdoor season. The IAAF Council approved the experimental introduction of the IAAF World Rankings in November last year.

This system of evaluation could have a number of interesting applications in the future, including deciding the participation of athletes at the different levels of meetings; it is also likely to be of great use to sponsors in establishing the benefits they provide to competitors.

It could be used to establish the Athletes of the Year and, from a more technical viewpoint, to attribute lanes to athletes in IAAF competitions (although this would require changes in the current Rules). Last, but not least, the IAAF World Rankings will be a new way of promoting athletics and its champions among the media and the public at large.

The IAAF World Ranking System will be tested throughout the current season and during this time the IAAF will be happy to receive comments from all parts of the world athletics family. The results of this first year will be evaluated by the IAAF Council at its meeting in November.

IAAF PRESIDENT PRESENTS THE IAAF WORLD RANKING SYSTEM TO THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS
21 June, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - On the evening of Friday, 23 June, the Stade de France in Paris Saint-Denis will host the first of the seven meetings of the IAAF Golden League 2000.

For this edition, which coincides with a late-season Olympics - the second half of September in Sydney - a number of rules have been modified so as to provide the maximum guarantees for the physical and mental well-being of the athletes. The changes are: to win the jackpot of 50 kilos of gold, athletes must win their selected event five times, rather than the seven required in 1999.
The Golden League disciplines for the 2000 season are: Men: 100m, 1500m, 3000m or 5000m, 400m hurdles, high jump, pole vault, shot put; Women: 100m, 1500m, 100m hurdles, long jump, javelin throw. All of the cash prizes, including the bonus for athletes setting a new world record in the above disciplines, will be paid by the organisers in Euros (15,000 to the first place, 10,000 to second, 6,000 to third, etc; 50,000 for a world record).
The star of the Meeting Gaz de France Paris Saint-Denis, will certainly be the World Champion and World Record Holder in the 1500m, Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj. El Guerrouj is in great form and one should not exclude the possibility that he will make an assault on his own record of 3:26:00, set in Rome on 14 July 1998. 1998 was a fantastic year for El Guerrouj, as he ended the year as a joint winner, with Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) and Marion Jones (USA) of the million dollar IAAF Golden League Jackpot. On Friday El Guerrouj will start his new treasure quest, this time for 50 kilograms of gold.

The inauguration of the IAAF Golden League will be preceded by a press conference given by IAAF President Lamine Diack, on Friday, at 1500 hrs in the Auditorium of the Stade de France. On this occasion, there will be the presentation of the "IAAF World Ranking System", a scientific method of evaluating the performances in athletics that could have a major influence on the organisation of athletics competition in the future. All journalists accredited for the Meeting Gaz de France Paris Saint-Denis - IAAF Golden League, are invited to attend this press conference. Access to the Auditorium is by Gate U of the Stade de France. Journalists will be required to show their accreditation. Refreshments will be served after the press conference.

10 May, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The first of the ten IAAF Grand Prix meetings scheduled for the year 2000 will take place on Saturday in Osaka, Japan, and will feature two great athletics' star in the 100 metres, with Maurice Greene and Marion Jones appearing in their first international meetings.

The season that starts this week-end (the second leg of the circuit will be held in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday) will be long and demanding. It will end at the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Doha (Qatar) on 5 October, where the winners of the various disciplines and overall winners will share US$3,388,000 in prize money.

The disciplines counting for the Grand Prix this year are, for men: 100m, 400m, 1500m, 3000m, 400m hurdles, high jump, triple jump, shot put and hammer throw; and for women: 100m, 400m, 1500m, 3000m, 100m hurdles, long jump, discus and javelin.

Athletes who have figured in the top-50 performances world wide during 1999 or since the start of the 2000 season are qualified to participate in the Grand Prix.

Maurice Greene and Marion Jones hold, respectively the best performances for men and women in the 100m in 1999. Greene set the World Record over the distance with his clocking of 9.79 in Athens on 16 June last year and he followed this up with two exceptional performances in the IAAF World Championships in Seville, with 9.80 for the 100m and 19.90 in the 200m.  Greene is the man to beat for the world's sprint fraternity, led by Canada's Bruny Surin, who took silver in the 100m in Seville with a time of 9.84 and who will be lining up against Greene in Osaka.Marion Jones will also be chasing a dream: that of winning five gold medals in the Sydney Olympics: 100m, 200m, long jump, 4x100 and 4x400.

Nine months ago, in Seville, Jones was injured in the semi-final of the 200m, after winning the 100m and losing (she took bronze) the long jump. But Jones has the determination to match her athletic talent.

After a winter of intensive training, she made her season's debut in Walnut, where she ran the 400m in 49.59, without pushing herself: a performance better than any recorded by a woman during the 1999 season.

All eyes will be on Jones for this first international appearance of the year, where she will compete in both the 100m and long jump.

4 May, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - On 7 May, hundreds of thousands of youngsters in over 150 countries will be competing for a chance to win a free trip to the IAAF World Championships in Athletics that will take place in Edmonton, Canada in August 2001.

The IAAF first introduced World Athletics Day in 1996 and in that first edition 24 youngsters from around the world won a trip to the Atlanta Olympics as guests of the IAAF.

Successive annual editions of World Athletics Day have taken the winners to the IAAF World Championships in Athens (1997), the IAAF World Cup in Johannesburg (1998) and the 7th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Seville last year.

For this fifth edition of the World Athletics Day, the IAAF Council will draw 12 youngsters (one boy and one girl from each of the six  IAAF Continental Areas) from among the winning athletes participating around the world. A further twelve will be drawn from the winners of World Athletics Day 2001.

The lucky winners will be announced after this year's draw, which is scheduled to take place at the IAAF Council Meeting in Sydney.

March 17, 2000

VILAMOURA - Portugal - The 28th edition of the World Cross Country Championships, the oldest and most prestigious international distance running competition in the world, starts tomorrow in the Algarve resort of Vilamoura (Portugal). With the recent addition of Bolivia and Estonia, 81 federations have now confirmed their participation. Six races are scheduled for March 18-19.

On Saturday, the Opening Ceremony is at 10:25, followed by the Junior Women's race at 11:00, the Senior Men's short race (4km) at 11:40 and Senior Women's long race (8km) at 12:10. On Sunday, the Junior Men's race starts at 10:30 followed by the Senior Women's short race (4km) at 11:15 and the Senior Men's long race (12km) at 11:55.

Extensive coverage of the World Cross Country Championships can be found on the IAAF's Internet web site at the following address: www.iaaf.org

March 14, 2000

MONTE-CARLO - Monaco - With the arrival of entry forms from Trinidad & Tobago and Equatorial Guinea, the IAAF can confirm a new record for participation at the World Cross Country Championships, which take place in Vilamoura, Portugal, next Saturday and Sunday (March 18-19). No fewer than 80 Member Federations of the IAAF have sent entries - easily beating the previous record of 72 from Turin in 1997.

To date, 540 men have been registered for the long course, short course and junior races in Vilamoura with 394 women signing up for the equivalent events. A total of 82 complete men's teams and 59 women's teams will also be represented.

March 13, 2000

MONTE-CARLO - Monaco - Following meetings this weekend in Monaco of the IAAF Medical Committee and Anti-Doping Commission, the IAAF has decided to set up a Research Project to study the role of food supplements and herbal preparations in doping.

This Project will be conducted in co-operation with UK Athletics, other Member Federations and concerned athletes. The Project involves the collection of data, internationally, regarding positive tests for nandrolone and other substances. This includes the declarations written on the original doping control forms by athletes who have tested positive, reports from the IOC accredited laboratories, and also information about regulations regarding the marketing of supplements and herbal remedies in countries where athletes are disputing positive findings. Experimental research proposed by UK Athletics will also be crucial. The IAAF has agreed to support UKA with a grant to help them to make a full study of the effect of various substances, including food supplements and herbal preparations, on selected volunteers. Published data in scientific journals about nandrolone, food supplements and herbal preparations will also be collected and studied. This information will be provided by the IAAF's Scientific Advisory Board. The findings of this research will be summarised by the IAAF into an Information Report which will be made available to the international sports
community.

The project will be supervised by an IAAF group consisting of a chairman, Senior Vice-President Arne Ljungqvist (SWE), and IAAF Council Members Abby Hoffman (CAN), Jose-Maria Odriozola (ESP) and Jean Poczobut (FRA).

1 March, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - After a hard-earned winter break, the IAAF Grand Prix season is once again with us, with the first meeting of the Southern Hemisphere taking place tomorrow in Melbourne, Australia.

Tomorrow's meeting is an IAAF Grand Prix II and initiates a seven month long season that will include 29 meetings, ranging from Grand Prix II to Grand Prix I and the prestigious IAAF Golden League, and concluding with the IAAF Grand Prix Final, that will be held this year in Doha, Qatar on 5 October.

In addition to the galaxy of home grown stars in the field, a fair number of leading overseas athletes will also compete in the first IAAF Grand Prix of the new millennium, including Russian veteran Irina Privalova (100m); Beatrice Faumuina of New Zealand in the discus, Sonia O'Sullivan (IRL) in the 1500m; Andrei Bucher from Swizerland in the men's 800m and  William Chirchir and Noah Ngeny in the 1500m.

As well as Australia's darling Cathy Freeman, local eyes will be watching 15 year-old Georgie Clarke, a gold medallist over 800m in the inaugural edition of the IAAF World Youth Championships last year and holder of the Australian all-comers record over 1500m, who will be facing the seasoned assault of O'Sullivan in tomorrow's race.

The next edition of the IAAF Grand Prix will be on 24 March, with the Engen Grand Prix (IAAF Grand Prix II) in Pretoria, RSA.

Results and reports from all IAAF Grand Prix Series events are published on the IAAF web site www.iaaf.org shortly after the meetings are over.

February 15, 2000

MONTE-CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF would like to clarify a number of points regarding positive cases for nandrolone (a recognised anabolic steroid for over 25 years) in athletics and sport in general.

Contrary to popular opinion, there has not been a major change in the number of nandrolone cases recorded by the IAAF - and its associate doping control agencies - over the past decade. The number of cases has ranged between 0.076 per cent and 0.125 per cent of all tests. An average of 0.084 per cent. In the last three years, there has been a slight increase. In 1997: 0.090 per cent, in 1998: 0.120 percent and in 1999: 0.125. This means, in effect, that based on recent results between one and two athletes per thousand who are tested are found to have nandrolone in their bodies.

The IAAF's figures are supported by international statistics for all sports reported by the UK Sports Council's Expert Committee. The frequency of positive nandrolone cases has ranged between 0.20 and 0.25 per cent throughout the 1990s. International statistics for 1999 compiled so far has shown 70 positive nandrolone cases out of 34,803 samples. i.e. 0.20 per cent.

The facts do not back up the notion of a sudden increase in nandrolone cases in sport. Furthermore, the frequency of such cases in athletics is lower than the average in all sports together.

Nevertheless, on the initiative of UK Athletics and several athletes who are seeking to explain apparent anomalies in nandrolone findings, IAAF Council has agreed to participate in international research. The goal of this study is to establish whether there is a connection between food supplements and nandrolone, as has been suggested by several parties.

February 13, 2000

MONTE-CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Council, on the last day of its Extraordinary Meeting in Monte-Carlo, welcomed the initiative of UK Athletics and has decided to conduct an international study on the possible effect of food supplements on athletes who have tested positive for Nandrolone. The study will be conducted with the co-operation of athletes and Member Federations.
However, during this inquiry, the IAAF's disciplinary procedures will continue to apply to all athletes suspected of doping offences. Athletes will continue to be reminded of the possible hazards of taking food supplements.
In a continuing effort to promote athletics, the Council studied proposals for an Overall World Ranking System for athletics. In this system, which will be tested during the 2000 outdoor season (Northern Hemisphere), athletes from all disciplines will be ranked on one list, as well as by individual event.
Following other recommendations from the Competition Commission, Council agreed that IAAF Competition Awards be extended to the team events at the World Cross Country Championships and the World Race Walking Cup starting from the next editions. It was also agreed that the IAAF World Cross Challenge would be discontinued after the current season.
Council also discussed proposals to make field event competitions shorter and more exciting for spectators. For example, in the pole vault and high jump, athletes may have a fixed number of attempts, while in the horizontal field events a maximum of four attempts may be allowed. During the 2000 outdoor season some one-day meetings will be used to test the new proposals.

February 12, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Council, during an Extraordinary Meeting in Monte-Carlo, has decided to amend IAAF Rule 59.2 (Disciplinary Procedures for Doping Offences). As of midnight on February 13, any athlete who has been cleared by his or her national federation of a doping offence, but whose case has been sent to Arbitration by the IAAF, will now be suspended from competition until the conclusion of that Arbitration.
The cases of the following athletes were sent to Arbitration by IAAF Council on November 18/19 1999:
Gary Cadogan (GBR); Linford Christie (GBR); Itai Margalit (ISR); Andre Luiz Ramos (BRA), Javier Sotomayor (CUB); Douglas Walker (GBR). Today, Council also decided to refer the case of Merlene Ottey (JAM) to Arbitration.
Therefore, all these athletes will be suspended from competition as of February 14 pending the conclusion of their Arbitration hearings. IAAF Council also decided, following a request of the Local Organising Committee, to change the date of the 2000 IAAF Grand Prix Final from Wednesday October 4 to Thursday October 5. The venue remains Doha in Qatar. The Council also heard reports from the Local Organising Committee of the World Championships in Edmonton 2001 and from various IAAF Commissions  and Working Groups. IAAF Council will conclude its working sessions tomorrow.

10 February, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The IAAF Council will hold an extraordinary meeting in Monte Carlo on Saturday and Sunday 12-13 February, under the Presidency of Lamine Diack.
President Diack had announced this special session at the close of the last Council meeting on 18-19 November last year, which had concentrated on the various problems arising following the decease of Dr Primo Nebiolo, who had presided over the IAAF from 1981 until 6 November 1999.
The work of the 26 Members of the Council will focus on the report from the Organising Committee of the 8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, which are scheduled for the summer of 2001 in Edmonton, Canada, and the reports from the various Commissions and Working Groups, such as Marketing & Television, and Competitions.
Council will also examine certain aspects of the IAAF's anti-doping policy. On Monday, there will be a meeting of the Council of the International Athletic Foundation, with the participation of the Honorary President, His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco.
At the initiative of Prince Albert, a memorial mass for Dr Primo Nebiolo will take place at 6.30 p.m. on Monday 14 February, in Saint Charles church in Monte Carlo.

January 21, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - From Southern Spain to Northern England, the IAAF Cross Challenge continues tomorrow with the Great North Cross Country in Durham.

Like the IAAF World Cross Country Championships - the Great North has long and short course races. In the women's long race (6.5km), Gete Wami aims to continue her impressive win streak. The Ethiopian last lost a cross country race in Vilamoura - on February 7 1999! Since then, she has become World Champion at cross country (long course) and 10,000m. As usual, her toughest challenger will be Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who has started the season well  herself - winning on her debut appearance in Belfast and just losing out in a sprint finish last weekend in Seville behind Wami and Kenya's Jackline Maranga, the short course World Cross Champion. But Radcliffe will need to cope with two other in-form Ethiopians, Ayelach Worku and Merima Dendoba, Portugal's former World and Olympic 10,000m champion Fernanda Ribeiro and Kenya's Susan Chepkemei.

Chepkemei's team-mate Maranga, the reigning Commonwealth 1500m champion, will test her form in the Durham short course race. The Kenyan's toughest rival will be Kelly Holmes - the British track star who won two silver medals at 800/1500m at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg but has struggled against injury and illness. The home crowd will also be rooting for Kathy Butler - the former Canadian who is now representing Great Britain and will be aiming to cement a place in the World Championships team.

In the men's long race (9km), top Kenyans Patrick Ivuti and Richard Limo take on their East African neighbours Assefa Mezgebu and Fita Bayissa, with Europe's best challenge expected from local hero Jon Brown and the 1998 European cross country champion Sergey Lebid of the Ukraine. In the short race (4km), the cream of Great Britain's middle and long distance squad - including John Mayock (1998 European Indoor champion at 3000m), Tony Whiteman, Spencer Barden and Matthew Yates - will start.

IAAF Cross Challenge Standings As at January 21 2000
Men
Meets Points
1 Henriques Eduardo POR 2 41
1 Kamathi Charles KEN 2 41
3 Ivuti Patrick KEN 2 34
4 Mezgebu Assefa ETH 2 29
5 Guerra Paulo POR 2 25
6 Tergat Paul KEN 1 22
6 Muchiri Gabriel KEN 2 22
8 Limo Richard KEN 1 19
9 Brown Jon GBR 1 17
9 Sulle Martin TAN 1 17
Cullen Keith GBR 1 13

Women
Meets Points
1 Cheromei Lydia KEN 2 41
1 Maranga Jackline KEN 2 41
3 Worku Ayelech ETH 2 37
4 Wami Gete ETH 1 25
5 Radcliffe Paula GBR 1 19
6 Dita Constantina ROM 1 17
6 Szentgy?rgyi Katalin HUN 1 17
8 McKiernan Catherina IRL 1 16
9 Smolders Anja BEL 1 15
10 Denboba Merima ETH 1 14
10 Sampaio Helena        POR  1      14

Monte Carlo / Lucerne, January 12, 2000:

The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) has signed a new agreement with the leading sports marketing and media company ISL  Worldwide. ISL will continue as the IAAF's marketing, television and media partner for the worlds' premier athletics events and over the next 10 years will implement a strategy aimed at enhancing the position of athletics as one of the worlds most  opular sports.

Under the deal ISL will be responsible for the commercial exploitation of all IAAF marketing, licensing, merchandising and media rights on a worldwide exclusive basis. The agreement covers all major IAAF events, including the IAAF World Championships, the IAAF World Indoor Championships, the IAAF World Junior Championships and the IAAF Grand Prix Final.

In Europe, the premier athletics events will continue to be promoted through a partnership with the IAAF's long term European broadcast partner, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). In other key markets, such as Japan, long term partnerships with broadcasters are already in place guaranteeing excellent exposure for athletics.

A new global Marketing and Media Concept

As a key element of the arrangement, the IAAF and ISL have agreed to implement a new global marketing and media strategy for athletics and its premier events.

Central to this strategy is a branding concept, which will give the sport a completely new look. It will be promoted through the various IAAF broadcast and marketing partners, which will be appointed by ISL.

This move aims to further improve the exposure and consumer relevance of athletics which is one of the most widely enjoyed sports in the world, the core sport of the Olympic Games, and attracts some of the largest television sports audiences, as shown again in the 1999 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Seville.

Lamine Diack, President of IAAF: „The extension of the relationship with our long-term partner ISL is a milestone for both parties. Together, we have built one of the most successful global sports marketing programs and we are convinced that ISL is the best partner for the IAAF and the future of world athletics".

Jean-Marie Weber, Chairman of ISL Worldwide: „We are very much looking forward to continuing our long and successful co-operation with IAAF and we are extremely proud to accept the IAAF's continued trust in ISL as their exclusive marketing and media partner".

Continuing a Successful Partnership

The IAAF and ISL began their co-operation following the inaugural first IAAF World Championships in athletics in Helsinki 1983 and subsequently built one of the first commercial marketing programs in the history of sport. This new arrangement has been developed and negotiated over the past few months with the IAAF, firstly under the leadership of the late IAAF President Primo Nebiolo and then by his successor Lamine Diack.

January 11, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - Today in Munich the Presidents of the IAAF and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Mr. Lamine Diack and Professor Albert Scharf, reached an agreement on the terms that will govern the relationship between the two organisations, once the current contract expires in 2001.

This agreement will ensure that the IAAF World Athletics Series is transmitted on national free-to-air channels in 99 countries in Europe and Africa, thereby ensuring the maximum exposure and promotion of the IAAF events.

The IAAF President stated that "this agreement is an essential part of the IAAF strategy for the development of athletics worldwide, and underlines our commitment to maintaining athletics as a major, popular televised sport."

For Professor Scharf, this agreement "underlines the faith that major International Sporting Federations have in working as partners of the EBU in the interest of their sports, and benefiting from the EBU's expertise and commitment to the sporting public."

January 7, 2000

MONTE CARLO - Monaco - The grounds of Belfast's Stormont Castle - now world famous as the home of the fledgling Northern Ireland Executive  - will provide a picturesque setting for the Fila International Cross Country tomorrow, the latest major event of the 1999-2000 cross country circuit. Although not part of the IAAF Cross Challenge circuit - which continues next weekend with the Cross Italica in Seville - the Belfast meeting is still a favourite with many cross country specialists. This year, the women's race offers an intriguing confrontation between Ireland's Catherina McKiernan and Britain's Paula Radcliffe. McKiernan, now firmly established as one of the world's best marathon runners, finished fifth in the recent IAAF Cross Challenge in Brussels after a long layoff due to injury, and has her sights set on Olympic gold in the marathon in Sydney. Radcliffe, who will make her season's debut in Belfast after a minor operation in December, finished second in the 10,000m at the World Championships in Seville and is aiming  o become Britain's first ever Olympic gold medallist at that distance later this year.

Both women are superb cross country runners, each coming agonisingly close to becoming World Cross Country Champion - a title revered by distance runners. McKiernan won four consecutive silver medals at the World Cross Country Championships between 1992 and 1995 while Radcliffe has now won two silvers and a bronze in the last three editions. But while Radcliffe still dreams of  taking gold in Lisbon in March, McKiernan will run the London Marathon in April as part of her Olympic build up.

Despite their reputations, neither will start as favourite: Ethiopia's 20 year-old Ayelech Worku (second in Brussels and 5000m bronze medallist in Seville) and the Romanian Constantia Dita (second at the European Cross Country Championships) have more race honed sharpness.

In the men's race, the favourite will be the unsung hero of last year's World Cross Championships, 21 year-old Patrick Ivuti. The Kenyan did the donkey work for Paula Tergat the last time he raced in Belfast, and will be hoping to go one better this year. His closest rivals are likely to be the 1997 European Cross Country Champion Carsten Jorgensen (Denmark) and South Africa's Shadrack Hoff, the national record holder for 5000m with 13:14.16.