The IAAF Council meeting will be presided over by Sebastian Coe, the British two-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist who has found himself at the centre of unwanted attention since taking over the presidency over claims of a conflict of interest concerning his continuing paid role as an ambassador for United States sportswear giant Nike.
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“I’m grateful for that advice but it is clear that perception and reality have become horribly mangled”.
“The current noise around it is not good for the IAAF and it is not good for Nike”, he said.
Coe also defended his role: “It was an nearly unanimous vote around the table of which I was one vote”, he said.
But the Swedish city of Gothenburg, which was also vying for the 2021 worlds, wants the whole process to be investigated.
The IAAF published an email from January, first reported by the BBC on Tuesday, from leading Nike official Craig Masback to officials at Eugene’s Track Town USA which followed a conversation with Coe. Revelations of systematic doping in Russian Federation and alleged corruption at the very top of the IAAF have undermined trust in the sport and its leadership and forced Coe onto the defensive.
Diack later announced the award of the 2021 championships in April, catching many by surprise.
“Seb made it clear that if he is elected president he is willing to consider as early as next November choosing the 2021 site”.
“I was asked specifically about my view of what was happening (around the hosting of the championships)”.
‘It wouldn’t surprise me if WADA did end up doing an investigation on the ground in Kenya, ‘ he said, ‘especially with the level of denial from the sport and the Government authorities amid pretty obvious evidence’.
An IAAF statement said an All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF) letter had been received on Wednesday “accepting their full suspension without requesting a hearing as was their constitutional right”.
The IAAF Council meets in Monaco on Thursday to discuss Russian track and field, just three weeks after deciding to temporarily suspend one of the sport’s powerhouses.
Coe said on the IAAF website that the other “two thirds of the campaign was privately funded”.
Pound vowed to keep up the fight against widespread doping.
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So, instead of being lauded on stage in their finery, the shortlisted stars such as Usain Bolt, Ashton Eaton, Genzebe Dibaba and Dafne Schippers, along with the world’s media will hear of the award winners via an emailed news release.
