Convicted ex-head of world athletics Lamine Diack dies at 88

Lamine Diack, the former head of world athletics’ governing body who was convicted of corruption last year, died at home in Senegal on Friday at the age of 88, his son told Reuters.

Diack led the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1999 to 2015, during which 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 and was later released on bail.

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

Diack’s lawyers had previously said he was in poor health and would die if sent to jail.