Paula Radcliffe and Jonathan Edwards have reacted with incredulity and dismay to news that all athletics world and European records before 2005 are likely to be stripped from the record books.

Radcliffe, who set the world marathon record in 2003, told the Guardian she was “offended” by proposals that were approved by European Athletics at the weekend, adding that it “unfairly damages the reputations of many innocent athletes”. Meanwhile Edwards, whose triple jump record dates back to 1995, called them “wrong-headed and cowardly” – and warned it will further erode trust in athletics. The plan, which is strongly backed by Seb Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, will not only require anyone who sets a world record to have been tested numerous times in the months beforehand but also to have the sample taken after their record performance still available for retesting.

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The IAAF has stored blood and urine samples only since 2005, which means the records by Edwards and Radcliffe are at risk of being struck from the books, along with Colin Jackson’s indoor 60m hurdles world record of 7.30sec set in 1994.

Edwards told the Guardian he fundamentally disagreed with the decision. “I wish they had the courage of their convictions,” he said. “If there are records that are unbelievable and suspicious, go for those. I thought my record would go some day, just not to a bunch of sports administrators. It seems incredibly wrong-headed and cowardly. And I don’t think it achieves what they want it to. Instead it cast doubts on generations of athletics performances.”

Radcliffe said: “I fully understand the desire and need to restore credibility to our sport but don’t feel that this achieves that. It is yet one more way that clean athletes are made to suffer for the actions of cheats.” On Twitter she wrote: “I am hurt and do feel this damages my reputation and dignity. It is a heavy-handed way to wipe out some really suspicious records in a cowardly way by simply sweeping all aside instead of having the guts to take the legal plunge and wipe any record that would be found in a court of law to have been illegally assisted. It is confusing to the public at a time when athletics is already struggling to market itself.”

The proposal would also mean historical world records, including Mike Powell’s world long jump of 8.95m and Hicham El Guerrouj’s 1500m time of 3min 26.00sec would be erased from the books. Others that have long been seen as dubious, such as Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 100m and 200m world records and numerous world bests set by eastern bloc athletes during the Cold War when state-sponsored doping was rife and there was no out-of-competition testing, would also be wiped.

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However, Usain Bolt’s 100m and 200m records, David Rudisha’s 800m best and Wayde van Niekerk’s 400m are likely to remain on the books as they were set more recently – providing they meet the new rules.



Pierce O’Callaghan, who led the European Athletics project team, said he was confident the plan would survive legal challenges. “We are not casting doubt on the previous records at all, just saying the criteria have changed,” he said.

The IAAF is expected to approve the proposal in July and it is likely to come into effect within the next 12 months.