World Athletics has removed eight countries from the Competition Manipulation Watch List, including Kyrgyzstan. The organization’s website says, following the 236th World Athletics Council.
The World Athletics Council approved the introduction of a Competition Manipulation Watch List in September 2022 in response to an Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) investigation prompted by reports of suspicious competition results during the Tokyo Olympic qualification period.
«Following the 2024 annual review, and the progress made in enhancing officiating standards and processes, the following Member Federations will be removed from the list: Albania, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, subject to conditions set by the Competition Commission,» the organization’s statement says.
In 2021, the World Athletics World Council created a Competition Manipulation Watch List to address the growing problem of falsely reported qualification scores. At that time, the Athletics Integrity Unit received 17 individual referrals to investigate suspect Olympic qualification standards, after which the so-called Competition Manipulation Watch List was introduced.
World Athletics has stated that it would not recognize results achieved at competitions held by member federations included on the Competition Manipulation Watch List, with the exception of selected official events. They include official international or regional championships.
