The president of the Norwegian Athletics Association says he believes all of the world records set before 2000 should be reviewed, because of suspicions that they may have been set with the help of doping.
Svein Arne Hansen said Monday that he is certain that many of the records set during the 1980s and 1990s were made possible by doping. He said those records are so out of reach that they curb interest in sporting events. "Stripping away some records will create a new wave of interest in these sports," he said.
Fewer world records are being broken in the wake of tougher zero-tolerance testing for substances such as anabolic steroids and blood enhancement drugs. Hansen says he is looking forward to proposing a world-record review at the World Athletics Championships in Paris, from August 23-31.
Suspicion is especially strong about records set by women athletes from the former East Germany, where officials have admitted that a systematic doping program was in place.