Plan revealed to reset existing European records

The European Athletics Council has come up with a radical plan that would wipe out existing European and world records and set a clean slate as part of the fight against doping.

The proposal was adopted during the Council's meeting in Paris over the weekend, and president Svein Arne Hansen admitted it was "revolutionary".

In a nod to the stain that doping has left on athletics, he also said that "performance records that show the limits of human capabilities are one of the great strengths of our sport, but they are meaningless if people don't really believe them".

"It's a radical solution for sure, but those of us who love athletics are tired of the cloud of doubt and innuendo that has hung over our records for too long."

The project proposes that world and European records only be recognised if achieved at approved international events and if the athlete concerned "has been subject to an agreed number of doping control tests in the months leading up to the performance", a statement said.

All records set before a date that has yet to be defined will remain but only on a list of old ords.

The plan will be put forward to the council meeting of world governing body the IAAF in August.