20th March, 2014
The President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Lamine Diack, said on Thursday that he would retire from the position in 2015.
Diack announced the plan at a luncheon he organised for the African members of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS-Africa) participating in the AIPS Congress in Dakar.
He said that by 2015, he would have served cumulatively for a total of 39 years at the top level of athletics from Africa to the world level.
“I have served enough; I need to spend more time now with my family, especially my grand children, many of whom want to see me more often.
“I have also had a fulfilled time at the top of the sports. Africa is now making strong impact in the sports at the highest level.
“I served as secretary-general of athletics and football in Senegal before later becoming a minister of sports in 1971.
“I gave myself some tasks as an agent of change in the IAAF. At the time I joined the ranks from the African level, many European countries had five to six votes while Africa and other developing countries had just a vote.
“But today, the story is different as virtually all countries now have equal votes. As I leave, my immediate desires are to leave the association stronger,” Diack said.
He said he had thoroughly enjoyed every moment of his time, saying: “I must say I achieved because we were united, particularly at the level of African, where I spent considerable time without holding elections.
“When I look back, I feel happy that I enjoyed tremendous time, because all my members gave me all the support that helped me to build bridges of understanding at the level of the continent.’’