World Athletics President Warns Drug Cheats during COVID-19

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) —Sebastian Coe World Athletics President issued a warning to athletes tempted to take advantage of the limited testing and used doping substances during the coronavirus pandemic, that they “Will get caught.”

Coe admitted that the global health crisis has also had a negative impact on his organization’s anti-doping machinery.

“Clearly, because of lockdown, curfews and international travel restrictions, (drugs) testing have been more difficult,” Coe, 63-year-old told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

“But nobody should run away with the idea that there is no testing taking place at all. It is.

“I want to send a very clear message to the athletes: do not sit there thinking that this is a test-free zone. It isn’t.

“If you choose to step outside the integrity of our sport, you will get caught.”

The 2020 athletics calendar has been decimated by the COVID-19 with the Tokyo Olympics, the season’s highlight, postponed until 2021.

European Athletics announces on Thursday, April 23, 2020, that the Paris 2020 European Athletics Championships, scheduled to be held in Paris this August 25-30, 2020, was cancelled.

So far eight major athletics meets have been cancelled or postponed this season with no revised dates yet announced.

The President said the global pandemic will have financial consequences for athletes and hopes competitions can still take place in 2020.