IAAF Chief Calls for Fans to Believe in Stars of Rio

(ATR) Sebastian Coe wants people to watch athletics at the Rio Olympics with "excitement and belief," despite the Russian doping scandal that has shaken fans trust in the sport.

The track and field program gets underway in Rio on Friday.

"I genuinely hope that those people watching our sport are watching with hope, excitement and belief," the IAAF chief told a press conference in Rio.

"I hope they feel that what they are watching are competitors doing what they have God-given talent to do and they’re doing it cleanly.

"The vast majority are," he added. "It’s our responsibility now to make sure that in future we never return to what we have been dealing with."

The IAAF chief said he was looking forward to an "outstanding" championship. He said some of the stars participating in Rio such as Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers and Kenyan middle-distance runner David Rudisha "would have graced any era in our sport".

Coe insisted that no athlete he had spoken to in Rio had expressed concerns about the IAAF’s decision in June to impose a blanket ban on the Russian athletics team. The decision means none of the country's 68 qualified track and field athletes are in Brazil.

"It is not a subject an issue they are raising with me in any profound way. I’ve had good and lengthy conversations with a lot of athletes. It is not an issue they are raising," he said.

Coe said athletes were in "very practical mode," with their concerns revolving around the quality of food, length of queues and comfort of beds.

Asked what he thought about the IOC turning its ire on WADA after Richard McLaren’s devastating findings detailing state-sponsored doping in Russia, Coe said it was "absolutely crucial" that in the anti-doping landscape federations, the IOC and WADA have clear roles and responsibilities.

Coe on Life Bans

Thomas Bach this week said he would make a third attempt to bring in life bans for doping cheats in the wake of the controversy over the IOC’s handling of the Russia crisis. Previous bids have failed – the Court of Arbitration for Sport threw out the so-called Osaka Rule and last month overturned the IOC rule banning athletes with doping convictions from Rio.

Coe has for a long time been a strong supporter of life bans, saying he had been "talking about this for 35 years."

"I am unreconstructed on that subject," he said in response to a question from Around the Rings. "We have been down that road on a number of occasions. My understanding from all the legal advice we have taken thus far is that this is just not going to hold," he said.

"Clearly, if there is a different approach that is going to be looked at in the light of our current difficulties I am sure that probably will be part of those discussions between the end of the games and the end of the year and the summit.

"If there is a fresh approach to that and legal advice that there may be another way of looking at this, I am sure my colleagues in the sport will be certainly open to that," he added.

Last year ahead of the IAAF world championships in Beijing, Coe said he felt queasy at the idea of the USA’s Justin Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, beating Usain Bolt. The two race are set to face each other in Sunday’s marquee Olympic event, the 100m final.

Speaking to the press in Rio, Coe said he still felt similar and hadn't altered his stance:"I can’t change my view on that but he is eligible to compete and should be accorded the same courtesy that any athlete within those rules should be accorded."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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