Former Head Of World Athletics Lamine Diack Dies At 88

Former IAAF (now World Athletics) President, Lamine Diack, is dead.

The death of the 88-year-old occurred in the early hours of Friday and was confirmed by his son Papa Massata Diack, in an interview with Reuters.

Diack, before his death, was convicted of corruption last year.

The Senegalese led the International Association of Athletrics Federation (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, making him one of the most powerful people in athletics.

But he was later found guilty of running a clique that covered up Russian doping in return for millions of dollars in bribes.

A French court sentenced him to four years in prison in 2020, but he was never jailed. He remained under house arrest in France and was later released on bail, allowing him to return to Senegal.

“He died at home around 2 a.m. of a natural death,” his son, Papa Massata Diack, told Reuters.

His funeral is due to be held later on Friday.

As reported by Reuters, Diack’s lawyers had previously said he was in poor health and would die in jail if sentenced.