Sebastian Coe is stepping down from his ambassadorial role with Nike, the IAAF president said on Thursday.
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The head of world athletics’ governing body announced at a press conference in Monaco that he had cut his ties with the American sportswear giant.
“It is clear in that perception and reality have become horribly mangled”, he stated.
An internal Nike email leaked this week appeared to show him supporting the bid of Eugene, the USA city with close links to the company, to host the 2021 World Athletics Championships.
“Our focus is entirely on steadying the ship, it’s taking 18 hours a day, and this had become a distraction”.
The decision to step down from Nike “was purely on the need to focus on challenges ahead with my colleagues and particularly the executive teams here at (IAAF) headquarters”, he said.
President, Sebastian Coe, has stepped down from his paid role as an ambassador for Nike.
After emerging from a meeting of the IAAF council in Monaco this afternoon, Coe revealed he had ended his long-standing relationship with Nike.
Mr. Coe’s affiliation with the brand dates back to his days as a middle-distance runner for Great Britain, wearing Nike during his gold-medal runs in the 1500 meters at both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, according to Nike’s website.
“I was in a conversation with a Nike official in discharging my ambassadorial role, discussing a range of issues”, he said. But he said the company, again to ward off any potential conflict of interest questions, has agreed not to work for the IAAF as long as he leads it.
But in the light of the 82-year-old being investigated by French authorities over a doping corruption scandal, many observers questioned the validity and transparency of the decision.
For Russian track and field athletes to compete again, their athletics federation – ARAF – must demonstrate that it has permanently dismantled the “deeply rooted culture of cheating” identified by the WADA commission.
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Eriksson added that Coe had stressed he had not been responsible for the decision that was made in April. The IAAF said Araf had not requested a hearing.
