He was reportedly paid about £100,000-a-year by Nike.
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Despite insisting there is no conflict of interest, IAAF president Sebastian Coe has stepped down from his ambassadorial role with Nike.
Coe said he had sought advice from the IAAF’s Ethics Committee and was told he could retain his position in Nike and sports marketing firm CSM as long as he did not seek to influence any decisions which could have an impact on them.
In the email, dated January 30, 2015, Nike executive Craig Masback was quoted as saying he had a conversation with Coe in which Coe “made clear his support for 2021 in Eugene” and said he had “reached out to Diack” on the issue.
A WADA commission also recommended disqualifying several Russian athletes and coaches from worldwide competitions.
“A bid process did not take place when Osaka was awarded the 2007 World Championships”, Coe said.
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. There have been allegations of corruption and cover-ups at the IAAF too.
Coe spent most of the 40-minute news conference answering questions about his decision to cut his ties with sportswear company Nike and though the Russian Federation situation was expected to be the main topic of the council meeting, he said it had only been “touched upon”.
Coe said he was stepping down to focus on cleaning up global track and field’s governing body, but the move follows an investigation into the awarding hosting rights for the 2021 World Championships in Athletics to Eugene, Oregon, USA. He described Dyke as “decorative” and said: “I’ve done a fair amount, this needs to be respected”.
Now Coe, in his third month as president after being elected in August, is likely to come under scrutiny again over his suitability to lead the sport and his links with Nike.
The BBC said this week that Coe had been given £67,000 of public money towards his presidential election campaign, a figure he has publicly acknowledged.
In a letter to the IAAF, the general secretary of the Russian athletics federation, Mikhail Butov, said: “We are working very hard now in Russia to change a lot”.
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Those honours, won by American decathlete Ashton Eaton and Ethiopian 1,500 metres world record holder Genzebe Dibaba, were instead announced at Thursday’s news conference following the IAAF council meeting.
