The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have chosen a new president on Tuesday. Poland's Witold Bańka, a former middle distance runner will take over the reigns of the troubled body.
Poland's Sport and Tourism Minister Witold Bańka is set to become the next World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president after a vote on Tuesday left him as the only remaining candidate.
The vote was taken by the representatives of the Public Authorities -- the 21 government members who sit on the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation board -- in Montreal.
"This is an important moment for Poland. Being chosen is a great honour, but also a great responsibility," Banka told Polish news channel TVP Info.
The 34-year-old Pole will be formally confirmed as the fourth WADA president during the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Katowice, Poland from Nov. 5-7.
If anyone else is to challenge Bańka they must have the support of at least one Foundation Board member and submit their candidacy to WADA before a May 31 deadline.
Bańka, the 34-year-old minister of Sport and Tourism who helped Poland to a bronze medal in the 4x400 metres relay at the 2007 world championships, is expected to bring some youthful energy to a post where the three previous presidents -- Dick Pound, John Fahey and Reedie -- were well into their 60s when at the helm.
Troubled institution
The new president will take over an agency in turmoil.
WADA's handling of the Russian scandal fractured the anti-doping movement, with many athletes having lost faith in the organisation and the process put in place to protect them.
RUSADA was suspended in 2015 after a WADA-commissioned report by Canadian lawyer Dick Pound outlined evidence of state-backed, systematic doping in Russian athletics.
The Russian agency's reinstatement last year angered a string of sports bodies and athletes around the world.
As WADA emerges from the scandal deep divisions remain.
Restoring confidence and trust will be the first job for the new WADA chief.
Bańka have campaigned on the idea that athletes need to be part of the decision-making process at every level.
However, despite the urging of many athletes groups, he voted to reinstate Russia before RUSADA had met all its obligations in the Roadmap to Compliance.
Bańka was not available for an interview but in an email he outlined his platform, including the need for an athletes’ commission within every national anti-doping organisation.
"Athletes should be engaged in anti-doping activities, including the decision-making processes," wrote Bańka. "One of the major weaknesses of WADA, exposed by the Russian crisis, was a lack of communication, especially with athletes."
Bańka would also like to see a fund to build testing laboratories.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters