The bidding process for the 2020 Olympics has been dragged into the IAAF scandal after Dick Pound’s Wada investigation revealed that $5m of sponsorship money may have been a factor in swaying Lamine Diack’s vote.
Pound’s independent commission examined transcripts that showed Diack dropped his support for Istanbul and switched to Tokyo after the Japanese city agreed to pay the sponsorship cash.
The commission also uncovered evidence that senior IAAF officials benefited personally from the decisions to award athletics’ world championships.
The commission’s report cites transcripts of conversations between Diack’s son Khalil and Turkish officials in relation to the 2020 Olympics.
It states: “Transcripts of the various discussions between Turkish individuals with KD [Khalil Diack] make reference to a discussion regarding the Olympic city bidding process for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
“It is stated that Turkey lost LD’s [Lamine Diack’s] support because they did not pay sponsorship moneys of $4m-$5m either to the Diamond League or IAAF. According to the transcript the Japanese did pay such a sum.
“The 2020 Games were awarded to Tokyo. The IC did not investigate this matter further for it was not within our remit.”
It is believed the sponsorship deal in question involved the Japanese electronics giant Canon, which was a Tokyo 2020 gold partner and signed a multi-year deal with the IAAF 10 months out from the Olympics vote in Buenos Aires.
In a prepared statement, Tokyo 2020 spokeswoman Hikariko Ono said: “The note in the report is beyond our understanding.”
“The Games were awarded to Tokyo because the city presented the best bid. Tokyo’s bid was about Japan’s commitment to address issues around the integrity of sport.”
