Jonathan Edwards and Paula Radcliffe's records 'collateral damage'
BySportsbeat
Published 02/05/2017 at 14:26 GMT
Paula Radcliffe and Jonathan Edwards have been told they are "collateral damage" in the fight to legitimise world records by European Athletics taskforce chair Pierce O'Callaghan.
Paula Radcliffe World Record
Image credit: Eurosport
Under new proposals only marks set before 2005 that meet strict new rules would be kept by the IAAF as official world records.
Older marks, such as Edwards' triple jump standard set in 1995, Colin Jackson's indoor 60m hurdles record from 1994 and Radcliffe's 2003 marathon best, risk being lost under the proposals.
And while O'Callaghan, who said he had spoken to Radcliffe and Edwards, was consolatory towards those whose records would be chalked off, he said it was a necessary evil.
"Apologies to the athletes, we never intended to damage their reputation and legacy," he told the BBC.
"It is intended to give the public belief and credibility in what they are watching in the sport. There is a bigger picture out there.
"We hope people look at it in that vein, rather than stripping great athletes like Paula of their records.
"Unfortunately Paula ran her records in a golden period that happens to be two years before the technology moved on.
"People should not look at Paula's records and throw them in with doping records - she achieved her performance, as did Jonathan, with 100% integrity.
"This is about the bigger picture of reform in athletics and ensuring the public in events like the London World Championships [in August 2017], that they can believe what they are watching."
The taskforce was created with the aim of making long-standing athletics records believable, with many questioning the validity of records such as Florence Griffith-Joyner's women's 100m and 200m marks, set at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
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