EX-IAAF President Diack, son jailed for corruption

By Nurudeen Obalola

FORMER President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Lamine Diack, has been jailed after being found guilty of corruption. He received a four-year prison sentence in Paris, two of the years suspended, and fined €500,000.

The 87-year-old Senegalese faced corruption and money-laundering charges linked to the Russian doping scandal. He was convicted of accepting bribes of up to €3m from athletes involved in doping to help them cover up test results and letting them continue competing.

Diack has been under house arrest in Paris since November 2015.

Diack was President of the IAAF  – now World Athletics – for 16 years until he was replaced by Britain’s Sebastian Coe in August 2015.

Diack’s son Papa Massata Diack – who was banned for life from athletics in 2016 – was sentenced to five years in prison and a given a €1m euros fine.

Papa Diack is a former marketing consultant for the IAAF who wielded great influence in athletics circles.