Tokyo dismisses suggestion cash influenced 2020 Olympics bid

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee on Friday dismissed a footnote in a World Anti-Doping Agency report that suggested a payment of sponsorship money influenced its winning bid for the summer games.

A report compiled by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released on Thursday described corruption as "embedded" within the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

It followed an initial report released in November that detailed evidence of a "state-sponsored" doping system in Russia, which sent shockwaves through the world sporting community.

But it was a footnote in the latest report that rattled the organisers of the Tokyo 2020 games.

The buried note, on page 34 of the 89-page report, referred to a transcript of "various discussions" between Turkish individuals and Khalil Diack, son of the disgraced former IAAF president Lamine Diack, in relation to the 2020 Olympic bidding.

"It is stated that Turkey lost LD's support because they did not pay sponsorship moneys of $ 4 to 5 million either to the Diamond League or IAAF. According (to) the transcript the Japanese did pay," the footnote read.

The report used the abbreviation LD to refer to Lamine Diack. The Diamond League is track and field's top tier invitational circuit.

Istanbul in 2013 lost to Tokyo in the final vote to host the 2020 Olympics. Tokyo garnered 60 votes to the Turkish city's 36.

Hikariko Ono, spokeswoman for the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said in an e-mail: "The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee considers that the note in the report is beyond our understanding."

"The Games were awarded to Tokyo because the city presented the best bid," Ono added.

Daichi Suzuki, chief of Japan's government sports agency, said he did not think Japan had paid sponsorship money to the IAAF, according to Jiji Press.

"We made clean campaign activities," he said.

The WADA report added in the same footnote that it "did not investigate this matter further for it was not within our remit".

Source :AFP