Concerned about widespread doping, British track officials suggest wiping the record books clean

In a set of stringent proposals to combat doping, British track officials want to draw a line in the record books and start over with what they would call a “new Clean Athletes era.”

The 14 recommendations in the UK Athletics’ manifesto, issued on Monday, also push for much harsher penalties for serious rules violations.

“The integrity of athletics was challenged as never before in 2015,” the governing body stated. “And the challenges, especially from drugs cheats, show few signs of receding.”

The manifesto follows a recent series of scandals that has included allegations of systemic doping in Russia and corruption among international track officials.

UK Athletics has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency to make its register of drug tests public and increase the minimum ban for serious offenses to eight years.

British officials suggested that national federations be forced to reimburse any prize money won by athletes from their nations if those athletes are subsequently found to have cheated.

“While the anti-doping authorities are struggling to demonstrate that their current systems are robust, UK Athletics believes that it is vital to build new safeguards so that honest athletes and the watching public can enjoy Clean Athletics,” the manifesto said.

The World Anti-Doping Agency is scheduled to release the second part of its report on the Russian scandal this week.