A revolution ? Maybe. A new organization has just emerged in the already very crowded world of the international sports movement. She wants to be independent. It aims to carry the voice of athletes, only athletes, in the fight for clean, doping-free sport.
His name: Global Athlete. All is said. The athletes, therefore. In complete independence. At its head, two personalities: Callum Skinner and Rob Koehler.
The first won Olympic gold in track cycling at the Rio 2016 Games, in the team speed event. Callum Skinner is British.
The second worked for more than 15 years at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), until holding the position of Deputy Director General. He left it in August 2018. Rob Koehler (photo below) is Canadian.
For both, the recent cases of doping in sport, led by the Russian scandal at the Sochi Games, have highlighted the failure of the international sports movement to combat the scourge. The athletes were waiting for answers. They are still waiting.
« We all agree on one point: the way in which the athletes' voice was taken into account by WADA and the IOC was very disappointing., explains Callum Skinner. This is not to say that Russia should not be reintegrated. But it is time to try to change the system, so as not to relive such a situation in the future. »
Rob Koehler, presented as the future general director of Global Athlete, made it clear: the organization will not only focus on doping cases. She will also take a position on cases of sexual or moral harassment.
The Canadian explains: “ Athletes are tired of being rejected and not being listened to. They are tired of being seen as uninformed people, incapable of seeing the big picture on a problem or matter. They want to participate in the development of sport with their leaders. »
To date, the new organization brings together only eight athletes. But the others will follow. Several names should be announced in the coming weeks.
Global Athlete is financed by FairSport, an NGO based in the United States, behind which appear the Norwegian Johann Koss, four-time Olympic speed skating champion, and the former German fencer Claudia Bokel, former president of the IOC Athletes' Commission. . The new structure also benefits from the help of several individual donors. But Rob Koehler insists: sports institutions, governments and anti-doping organizations will not intervene in the operation and decisions of Global Athlete.
The Canadian explains: “ We are not seeking to discredit the athlete committees, that of the IOC or that of WADA. But it is obvious that both fail to represent all athletes. »
WADA and the IOC have not yet officially reacted to the announcement of the arrival in the game of this new actor. But Kirsty Coventry, the president of the IOC Athletes' Commission, did not wait to express her views. “ It's disappointing that this group seems to believe that none of us care about athletes." she regretted.
The former swimmer, now Minister of Sports in Zimbabwe, recalls that the representatives on the IOC Athletes' Commission are democratically elected by their peers, from the 206 countries of the Olympic movement.
A new voice, therefore. She seems capable of being heard. On the condition, however, of rallying behind it the many disappointed people of the sports movement.
