The athletics season is in full swing. While the Tokyo World Championships are getting closer (September 13-21), Sebastian Coe was at Charléty on Friday for the Paris meeting. Questioned by L'Equipe, the president of World Athletics recalled the weight of Asia in the development of sport. It's a huge market for us, booming, especially commercially. And Asia isn't just China or Japan. It's going to from Qatar to the Philippines, without forgetting India or Indonesia. The potential is immense, athletics can still make a lot of progress in these territories " he says. Qatar had also hosted the World Championships in Doha, in 2019.
« Things are looking good " for Tokyo, he assures. " The organizing committee is very competent, building on the momentum of the Tokyo Olympics. We have good relations with them, as with the political leaders. " On another subject, he was asked to comment Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track, a circuit that adds competition to World Athletics competitions, with significant financial prizes. The initiative is welcome, and I say this personally. Why? If organizations other than World Athletics believe that our sport deserves such investments, it's because we're doing interesting things. Generally, No one puts money into sectors that don't work. "That's one way of looking at it, indeed.
