ATHLETICS. Valentin Balakhnichev: “The IAAF Congress in Osaka is going to be a success for Russia”

On August, 19, at 19.35 Moscow time the President of the All-Russian athletics federation, the candidate for the IAAF Council Valentin Balakhnichev left for Osaka where on August, 21-23 at the IAAF Congress the election of the President, four Vice Presidents, the Honorary Treasurer, Individual Members and Committees will be held. Before the flight to Osaka in the interview exclusive to the chief editor of the Agency of sport information “All Sport” Andrey Mitkov Valentin Balakhnichev estimated his chances to become the member of the IAAF Council to reform the world athletics.

“We hope on support from Africa and Asia”

- At the coming Congress you are the candidate for the IAAF governing body – the Congress, five more Russian specialists – for various committees, Yelena Isinbayeva is recommended for the Athletes commission. Is this Congress special for Russia?
- IAAF is the biggest international federation in the summer sports, athletics is the main sports at the summer Olympics. These actually are the reasons why the Congress and being the member of the Council are so important. Our people have always been at the Council, but unfortunately in 2003 we lost our membership. Undoubtedly this was bad. And not only for Russia, but also for the IAAF. IAAF leaders told me: a country like Russia, which contributes that much to the development of the world athletics and influences the trends in international sports, must have a delegate at the IAAF Council. I hope, this time everything goes OK, and the Russian delegates will be elected for the committees and commissions and I will become the Council member.

- Speaking about you, is this only hope? Or you probably may be sure that you are going to be elected? What is generally the situation before the voting?
- The election for IAAF Council follows the same scenario that every political election. The groups of influence decide everything. The situation is IAAF is constructive. We have six continental groups which select and promote their leaders, the lobbyists of their interests. Very many things depend on the continental organizations – on their position, the level of consolidation, the role of the leaders. By the way, the least organized one out of all the continental groups is certainly European. Although Europe occupies the leading position in the world athletics, attracts biggest investment speaking of holding international competitions, still in the last few years – at least during the term of my vice-presidentship at the European athletics association (EAA), we did not manage to form a lobbying group and to decide who we support and vote for.

- Does this make your situation as a delegate for Europe easier or more difficult?
- For every candidate there are two important goals to succeed at the election of the Council members. First one is the support of the IAAF President Lamine Diack, who enjoys huge authority in all the continental groups, but especially in two out of three the biggest ones – the African (53 votes out of 212 given at the Congress) and the Asian (49 votes). Europe has 50 votes, but they are, let me rememver, not united. With the President mr Diack we have been working together for a long time. He helps a lot to the development of athletics in the Eastern Europe on the whole and in Russia. I don’t think the decisions to hold in Moscow World indoor championships 2006 and World championships 2013 could have been easily made without the support of Lamine Diack. Moreover, we are friends with him. The second important goal is to gain support from the Asian and African continental groups. I have been present to both Asian and African Congresses, and also the Asian athletics championships. I have discussed the topic of my support with the leaders of the groups. And – I gained this support. I have also held constant talks with the members of the other two groups – American and from Australia and Oceania. They answered that I may count on their support in Osaka. Thus the electorate to vote for me and other Russian candidates in Osaka has been formed.


“Lamine Diack approved our activities”

- Half a year ago it became already clear the election for IAAF Council is a really very important project for you. You voluntarily refused from being re-elected as the EAA Vice-President. Did you feel the support from the Russian sports ministry, the Olympic committee, or probably, the Ministry for foreign affairs and the President of the country?
- Of course, I enjoy support from all the structures you mentioned.

- Is this only mental support – like slapping on the shoulder and saying “Valentin, you are cool, you are on the right way”?
- I feel this support not only in Russia but mainly abroad. I don’t say that I meet the Russian President at the head of his administration Sergey Sobyanin. I am aware of their support, I can feel it, but I don’t consider it ethically normal to talk about it at every corner. Why do I know and how can I feel it? I think it is clear that but for this support the winter and summer World championships would have never appeared in Moscow, the interest in athletics would not have grown all over the country, the systematic construction of sports venues would have never begun… From the other side, it’s not that simple to suppose that any of the governmental structures may influence the electorate of the IAAF Congress in Osaka. It is totally incorrect. Even education and sports awards not always turn to be important. The best example is the situation with the two times Olympic champion, the president of the Ukrainian athletics federation Valery Borzov, who I very much respect and support. This year he was not elected to the EAA Council, although he probably has as many awards as other members all together, excluding only Irena Szewincka from Poland. Election it is always a political decision. People tend to vote for the candidates they are acquainted with, in who they believe and have already implemented some projects. Of course we have special attitude to the Olympic champions – very tender and careful. But still the main thing in such structures as IAAF or EAA Council is the organizing abilities.

-  How the scandal situation in the Russian athletics in the recent month may influence your chances to be elected for the IAAF Council? I am talking about the positive doping samples of Tatyana Lysenko and Yekaterina Khoroshih, the charges of their coach Nickolai Beloborodov to the head coach of the national team Valery Kulichenko, the dismissal of Kulichenko till the end of the investigation, the scientific dispute with IAAF whether “the substance found in the samples is doping”…
- I don’t think that all this story will make our positions at the Congress more attractive. Or that it may pass unnoticed. It for sure did harm, although I still can not estimate how much harm. From the other side, for the first time in the history of the fight with doping in Russia we got a clear statement from the sportsmen about, let me say, assistance in the use of doping they got from an official. We have never had anything like that before! There could be gossip, but for the first time we got an official document. And this gave us the authority to act consistently and rather firm. I would like to remind you that in June the All-Russian athletics federation made a decision that not only an athlete, but also the people around him must carry responsibility for the use of doping. I think this position will find support both in the IAAF and in the whole world athletics family.

- Have you personally got any phone calls of support and approval from foreign colleagues?
- I didn’t get any. But I myself had to inform the IAAF President Lamine Diack of our situation.

- And what was his reaction?
- It was told to me that our activities are approved.


“I want to be elected to be useful”

- How the election for the IAAF Council will go? Will you make a speech at the Congress? What are you going to promise, suggest, ask for?
-  As a rule, his program presents only the IAAF President. Lamine Diack’s one is of course formed with the help of his team and properly worked at and for a long time known to everybody. I think in Osaka we are going to hear of the new stages of the implementation of the program. Moreover that Lamine Diack is unopposed to the position of the president. And the candidates for other positions as a rule do not make a speech, only if they insist on it. But I have never seen that anyone insisted. Believe me, this is not a serious instrument – and that’s why is not used. I also want to mention that the IAAF Council elected in Osaka will be the last Council to work under the chairmanship of Lamine Diack. With high possibility I may suppose that the next IAAF President in four years will be one of the members of the new Council – and even more likely, one of the vice-presidents. And minimum, I think, for the two terms.

- How much active do you plan to work at the IAAF Council if you are elected – to create, promote and to implement different projects?
- Naturally I want to be elected not just to sit in my chair afterwards, represent Russia and to use all the privileges it gives. During my membership in the Council I would like to implement several projects which I have declared in my platform. First, I would like to make the diplomacy of the IAAF and Lamine Diack more active, in order to promote development of athletics in the countries which are not leaders in our sport. And this is totally impossible without active partnership with the state. Second, I would like to intensify doping fight, to be more exact – to call to intensify it. We should make more responsible athletes and their coaches who must know – and always know! – what is happening to their athletes. Third, I would like to pay more attention to coaches, but apart from what I have said above. We need to constantly improve their qualification and, out of that, the level of the athletes’ shape, and competitiveness – giving access to more information, implementing science… It seems we will have to make the IAAF Regional centers of development work on this. Several years ago I already suggested transforming them into Academies where coaches would be able to raise their qualification. And the last one, I would like to help to create the new image of athletics connected with two new standards. It is 300-meter lap standard, but also I came to the conclusion that 200-meter lap standard is very important too, as it will help to solve the problem of athletics promotion at schools. Very few ones can afford building a stadium with 400 meter lap. It takes place and huge expenses. And the implementation of the 200-meter standard will make it possible to build stadiums near every school, every college. It will also help to find the basis for discussions with other kinds of sports, as in the center of the 200-meter lap you may build the fields for soccer, basketball, volleyball… Running is not only an athletics discipline but also the basis for many other kinds of sports. Unfortunately recently we have lost the opportunity to discuss with other sports and unite our effort for development. Now soccer and athletics stadiums are separate. And before the presidents of international soccer and athletics federations Joao Avelanche and Primo Nebiolo discussed the possibility to hold mini-athletics competitions of sprints and relays in the intervals of the soccer games. I also have some other projects. I hope I have proved that I want to become the IAAF Council member to work and to be useful.


“Bubka has got very good chances to become the IAAF President”

- What are the decisions to be taken at the Congress in Osaka?
- The documents I got include huge number of suggestions on changing the rules. Unfortunately I don’t see there anything interesting and useful, nothing that can really help to the promotion of athletics.

-  They are again offering to change the weight of the gadgets?
- They are not offering even this! Everything is just cosmetic changes – in spite of the fact that for 2000 years athletics has not changed its image. But I don’t think this retouching may change anything. Twenty years has passed already from the start of the discussion to measure long and triple jump from the place of the pushing. However no decision was made. To meet the TV request they just reduced the number of attempts from six to four. But this made the frequency of  missing the bar even bigger! I don’t think the competition became more interesting. And the chaos we see at the stadium when hundreds of athletes in polar athletics disciplines are competing at the same time?! It’s time to be honest with ourselves: to watch athletics by TV is more interesting and convenient than at the stadium. I don’t think that any of the proposed amendments can change this situation.

- What do you think of the proposal to suspend for the first positive doping sample for four years?
- We suggest new rules of the game of fighting doping, changing nothing in the heart of the matter. Two years, three years, life suspension… But still the main initiators of the use of doping remain unpunished! It’s not even the thing that we don’t punish – we don’t call them to order, don’t say: “What are you doing?! Stop! Turn back!” The roots, the reasons for the use of doping remain out of the field of the decisions we take.

- Does your critics of the proposed changes at the IAAF Congress mean that you will vote against them?
- No, I will vote “for”. The amendments we are talking about can be important from the point of view of techniques and technology. Although, I can repeat, they don’t bring deep, important changes. I think: those who know, can and have the authority must act more radically to defend the interest of our sport.

- Do you have ambitions, plans, ideas to become the IAAF President one day?
- I position myself as a person interested in working in Russia. Some time ago Primo Nebiolo twice tried to make me be a candidate for the position of EAA President. And twice I thanked him and refused. I keep to my position and now. At the same time I am closely following the career of Sergey Bubka – and see that he has got very good chances to be elected the IAAF President in four years.