ABU DHABI: Sebastian Coe yesterday all but confirmed that he would run for a second term as President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to continue the fight against doping and complete his mission to rejuvenate the sport.
The 62-year-old British former Olympic 1,500 metres champion was elected to the post in 2015 amid the full storm of a major doping scandal and has spent much of his term trying to battle the use of banned substances in track and field.
“I think we’ve made a very good start in the first few years,” Coe told Reuters in an interview at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi.
The first two or three years were very clearly about reform, about creating structures that were safe and secure, about providing foundations that would give confidence ... that we are a sport worth investing time, resource and finance into.
“The next leg of the journey has to be about innovation, it has to be about growing the sport, creating an exciting experience, particularly for young people
“That’s the fun bit, so clearly I would like to be part of it.”.
Reinstatement
The densest cloud hanging over the IAAF for the last three years has been the fallout from the Russian doping scandal, which resulted in the country’s athletics federation effectively being kicked out of the sport.
The IAAF instituted an independent process for the reinstatement of Russia, which included analysis of historic athlete samples now held by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
As it was an independent process, Coe said it was difficult for him to predict whether Russian athletes would be able to compete under their own flag at this year’s world championships in Doha or at next year’s Tokyo Olympics.
“We need to have systems in place that we trust, we need to enable athletes are able to express concerns ... we need to have coaches that have been plying their trade not included in the sport,” he said.
“We have to make sure that criteria is met, and when it is met, hopefully full reinstatement.”