Athletics: IAAF offers British body financial help

UK Athletics 98 officials yesterday confirmed that the International Athletic Federation had offered the new body a sum of money to help it through the financial crisis left behind when the British Athletic Federation went bankrupt, but they denied it was as much as $500,000 (pounds 310,000). That figure was mentioned in reports of a statement by the IAAF president, Primo Nebiolo, that talks about a loan were in progress.

UK Athletics 98 was set up in November when the British Athletic Federation went into receivership with debts of $550,000. The company was set up both to carry out the duties of the BAF and set up a new structure to run the sport. It has already been awarded pounds 300,000 by the Sports Council.

A spokesman for UK Athletics 98, Stuart Barnes, added: "The half-million figure is a bit high. You'd be better off talking around pounds 100,000."

l Juan Antonio Samaranch, the president of the International Olympic Committee, criticised some sports bodies yesterday for not rooting out drug cheats, saying at the IOC Session in Nagano, Japan, that many had "taken no measures to combat this [doping] scourge".