Bubka 'shocked' by Russian doping claims

Bubka 'shocked' by Russian doping claims

PARIS - Pole vault legend Sergey Bubka admitted Sunday he was "shocked" by claims of widespread doping amongst Russian athletes and pledged a crackdown on the "criminal" gangs who control the drugs supply.

IAAF council Vice President Sergey Bubka listens during an IAAF meeting on July 20, 2014 in Eugene, Oregon

Russian officials have strongly denied claims of state-backed doping made in a German TV documentary while the country's athletics federation has said it is considering legal action.

Bubka, who is now a vice-president of the IAAF and an IOC Executive Board member, described the allegations in the ARD/WDR documentary as "very serious".

"I am deeply shocked and understand that we need to act quickly and transparently now in order to protect the integrity of our sport," he said in a statement.

"I believe in a zero tolerance policy against doping and we have to consistently and relentlessly fight against what is the biggest threat to sport in the 21st century.

"We should fight the criminal networks, which make millions on doping and we should punish also doctors, judges, coaches, managers and others if they are involved in doping and corruption.

"This is not an easy task due to different laws in different countries. But without fighting the whole network, one cannot win the fight against doping."

Bubka's comments came as the German broadcaster aired the second part of its expose which made more allegations of doping in Russian athletics, as well as accusing individuals from outside Russia.

"The IAAF has seen a new documentary on German TV channel ARD on 7 December 2014 (part of the programme "SportSchau") which includes a number of allegations," said a statement from the governing body of world athletics.

"As was the case for the documentary broadcast by the same channel on 3 December, a transcript in English of this latest documentary will be forwarded to the independent IAAF Ethics Commission, which has already started an investigation into matters which were exposed in both documentaries."

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