February 24th, 2013 /db/gl WMM Statement on February 22nd 2013 regarding new anti-doping clause in Elite Athletes'

Contracts KEY PROVISIONS New anti-doping provisions in WMM elite athlete contracts will include the following:

The athlete acknowledges his/her right to receive payment from either the individual WMM events or WMM itself is conditional upon remaining fully compliant with all applicable anti-doping rules If the athlete is foundbefore, during, or after the term of the agreementto have committed a criminal offence involving drugs, or an anti-doping rule violation, or if for any other reason the athletes results in the marathon are later nullified by a relevant governing body, then the marathon organizer will have the following rights: o The right to reduce or suspend payments due to the athlete, or to terminate the agreement with immediate effect o The right to repayment from athlete of all or part of the money paid to the athlete under the agreement

A) BACKGROUND When WMM was formed in 2005, one of the first decisions made was that no athlete who had committed a doping offence which had a penalty of more than three months, would ever be invited to compete in any WMM marathon. WMM additionally agreed that no athlete would be paid until after anti-doping test results were official and athletes were deemed negative per the testing. WMM elite athlete contracts included provisions that the athletes would not break IAAF anti-doping rules; but no provision had previously been established for athletes to repay funds paid if they subsequently admitted to, or were found guilty of doping violations. A1) The Significance of the Introduction of Biological Passports by IAAF/WADA. In 2012 a new system and process for testing athletes was introduced - the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP). This individual profile of an athlete's blood over a period of time can indicate irregularities in the athlete's blood samples where banned substances or illegal techniques have been used. The first athlete to be banned under the ABP program was Portuguese marathon runner, Ornelas Helder. On July

25th 2012 six athletes were deemed guilty by the IAAF of drug offences via data provided by ABP testing. One of these athletes was Moroccan marathon runner Abderrahim Goumri. Shortly thereafter Inga Abitova from Russia was similarly suspended with the Russian Federation additionally annulling her results from October 10th, 2009 onwards. A2) The Significance of Lance Armstrong's Ban. USADA found that the preponderance of evidence indicated cheating by Lance Armstrong and others, and banned him from any further competition. The UCI ratified that decision and supported the competition ban, and further removed all of Armstrong's results back to 1998. The Armstrong situation is significant because the WMM race directors closely monitored what was happening in cycling, and after analysis decided to take further steps to deal with any potential for doping in elite marathons. Of particular importance was that WMM noted that Armstrong was repelling all calls to pay back any monies fraudulently earned, notwithstanding his later admission of cheating. B) WMM ACTIONS Based on the points A1) and A2) above, WMM took the action steps to develop further its stance against cheating mentioned earlier under A) Background. B1) Elite Athletes' Contracts in WMM events from mid-2013 onwards would include a clause to recoup funds paid to athletes who are subsequently found to have had a doping violation. B2) In 2012 WMM further discovered that there was minimal Out-of-Competition testing, and no ABP testing in Ethiopia and Kenya. This fact is significant because of the high number of the top marathon runners in the world who come from these two countries. As an example the top 100 marathon performers in 2012 (based on the IAAF Lists) indicated that 88% of the Men and 54% of the Women were Ethiopian or Kenyan. Therefore, following meetings with IOC, and IAAF, WMM decided to assist in the funding of additional Out-of-Competition testing and ABP testing in both Ethiopia and Kenya. A new program will be announced soon, following further consultation.

C) FAQ's Did the current WMM contracts not previously cover doping offenses and any form of repayment?

NO. HOWEVER PREVIOUSLY NO MONEY WAS PAID OUT UNTIL AFTER THE OFFICIAL DOPING RESULTS WERE RECEIVED

Are WMM events unanimous in their position against doping?

YES. ADDITIONALLY WMM WILL ASSIST ANY OTHER RACE/EVENT/ORGANISATION THAT WISHES TO UNDERSTAND, SUPPORT AND ADOPT WMM'S ANTI-DOPING PROVISIONS.
Why are WMM not testing athletes themselves?

HISTORY HAS SHOWN THAT BOTH TESTING AND THE MANAGEMENT OF TESTING RESULTS MUST BE CONDUCTED BY AN INDEPENDENT BODY TO ENSURE THEIR AUTHENTICITY. THEREFORE WMM EVENTS COOPERATE FULLY WITH THE RELEVANT BODIES THAT CONDUCT AND MANAGE THE TESTS BECAUSE WMM STRONGLY BELIEVES IN A CLEAN SPORT.

Why is the introduction of Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) testing so important?

FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS ABP BLOOD TESTING PROGRAM ALLOWS FOR RESULTS FROM SEVERAL TESTS TO BE COMPARED FOR AN INDIVIDUAL ATHLETE, AND IS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW ANTI-DOPING VIOLATIONS THAN PREVIOUS TESTING MODALITIES, AS THE CASES OF INGA ABITOVA AND ABDERRAHIM GOUMRI REFERENCED ABOVE SHOW.
Do you have support of the leading agents in the sport?

THIS INITIATIVE WAS DISCUSSED WITH A NUMBER OF LEADING AGENTS AND HAS THEIR SUPPORT.
Who will WMM pursue for repayment of funds paid to guilty parties?

OUR CONTRACTS ARE SIGNED BY ATHLETES OR AGENTS ON BEHALF OF THE ATHLETES. ATHLETES ARE LIABLE TO REPAY MONIES PAID AND WMM WILL REQUIRE THAT AGENTS COOPERATE IN THIS PROCESS.
Will prize money be reallocated accordingly after recouping funds?

YES