Live

Highlights on Off The Ball

07:00 PM-12:00 AM

Highlights on Off The Ball
Advertisement
Other Sports

Organisers have "cast-iron will" for Olympics to go ahead | Seb Coe

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe thinks the delayed Toyko Olympics will go ahead as planne...



Organisers have
Other Sports

Organisers have "cast-iron will" for Olympics to go ahead | Seb Coe

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe thinks the delayed Toyko Olympics will go ahead as planned this summer - despite the Indoor Athletics Championships falling this spring.

The Indoors had been set to take place in Nanjing in China in March but they've now been pushed back to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There's a planned July 23rd start for the Olympics with the IOC recently reaffirming their belief that the Games will go ahead and Coe shares that optimism.

“I went to Tokyo just a few weeks ago with a small team and was very comforted that there is a real cast-iron will to deliver these Games," the World Athletics chief said.

“Yeah there’ll be adaptations and changes. They talked about simplification and other things, but they are absolutely determined to stage these Games.

“So I have a pretty high level of confidence that we’ll be there. Nothing is certain in this world but I think we are working on a much firmer proposition that there will be a Games next year.”

Coe added that high-profile athletes won't be able to avoid doping suspensions due to their reputations, he's praised the work done by the Athletics Integrity Unit in recent times.

"I like to think that it has shown the athletes that we're not fearful of reputation. Where there is an infraction we're not fearful of going: 'Oh well that's quite a big name.

"The AIU is not always going to be on everybody's Christmas card list...but I do think that it has restored some confidence that we've got an organisation that will fearlessly and ruthlessly weed out the cheats."

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Doping Olympics Sebastian Coe World Athletics