Dubai: Lord Sebastian Coe, the world athletics supremo, feels that that his sport has seen off it’s worst phase and can now look forward while tapping into a young and vibrant generation of athletes.
The President of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), who was in Dubai on Tuesday, assured officials from various clubs and sports bodies from the UAE that athletics is in a far better position at the moment than compared to one year ago when he took over.
Lord Coe was received at the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) by Khalid Al Midfa, Assistant General Secretary, GAYSW and Ahmad Al Kamali, President, UAE Athletics Federation (UAE AF) and IAAF Council Member.
The world of athletics has been going through a tumultuous period throughout 2016 with Russian athletes facing a ban from Rio Olympics alongwith some of the big guns being involved in doping scandals. This, in turn, has led to athletics losing its glitter and credibility, while various sponsors have threatened to pull away their long-term support.
One of Lord Coe’s primary objectives on replacing Lamine Diack in August last year was to promise a complete overhaul of a sport that has been severely maligned after a series of doping allegations. “The first thing we need in athletics is infusion of youth at various levels, while utilising the new platforms of technology and social media to boost the growth of our sport,” Lord Coe told media as he interacted with UAE AF officials and media on Tuesday.
“After one year, I can safely state that we are definitely in a much better position than what we were in at this point of time last year,” he added.
Lord Coe insisted that the rejuvenation work in athletics has to commence from it’s 214-odd national federations across the world. “There are no short cuts here. We have several federations whose members are above 70 years of age. We need this infusion of youth so that we can have technologically sound officials and administrators at various levels of our sport,” he offered.
One of the greatest middle distance runners ever, the new IAAF president admitted that it was his passion for athletics that has propelled him to the role of an administrator. “What is most important in my life as an athlete was the presence of a good coach and this is true for any other aspiring athlete as well. Our sport creates pathways, and that is why coaching is absolutely crucial in forming not just athletes, but top-class leaders off the field. This is the reason why I will give coaching far greater status under my presidency,” Lord Coe said.
The IAAF chief also spoke of the need for athletics to have a much longer calendar of events than it’s current five-month window from May to September. “If we are to be honest with ourselves, then one of the challenges before us is to have a sports calendar spanning 12 months of the year. We need people, especially youngsters, to be in touch with our sport. We need to be relevant to them throughout the year,” Lord Coe said.
“We need to be creative on how to extend our season. We should introduce new products and fresh formats. We cannot afford to disappear for so many months,” he added.
