The president and general secretary of the Albanian Athletics Federation have copped lengthy bans after the Athletics Integrity Unit charged them with manipulating a competition result to help long jumper Izmir Smajlaj qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
In May 2021, Smajlaj broke the national men’s long jump record during the Dita E Kërcimeve competition in Tirana, registering a personal-best distance of 8.16m to secure entry for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. However, there was no equipment on site to measure the wind and validate the performance.
When the AIU asked for evidence of the jump and the equipment, the Albanian federation allegedly sent back a staged photo, breaching the World Athletics’ Integrity Code of Conduct.
“The falsified photo showed Smajlaj standing at the long jump track in front of wind measuring equipment but Ruli, Dionisi and Smajlaj all ultimately admitted there was in fact no wind measuring equipment at the relevant competition and that this photo was taken on a different day,” the AIU said in a statement.
Smajlaj, Albania’s only men’s track and field athlete at the Tokyo Games, placed 17th in qualifying at the Olympics with a jump of 7.86 metres — he did not advance to the final.
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On Wednesday, the AIU handed out bans to president Gjergj Ruli and general secretary Nikolin Dionisi after they “conspired together and submitted falsified wind measurement readings”. Ruli’s five-year ban expires in April 2028, while Dionisi’s ban ends in December 2026.
Smajlaj, a former European indoor champion who also competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was cleared of being part of the conspiracy.
“These sanctions are very important for the future of the sport and are a warning for those who govern athletics globally. They carry a weighty significance, signalling the Athletics Integrity Unit is serious about prosecuting federation officials who breach integrity standards,” Athletics Integrity Unit chair David Howman said in a statement.
“Federation officials are supposed to uphold fair play and clean sport, and we will hold them accountable for their actions should evidence show they are doing otherwise.”
