In view of climate change, Sebastian Coe raised the question of changes in the World Championships in Athletics. Global warming could lead to “that some of the endurance sports need to be separate from the Worlds and take place at different times in different locations to ensure the welfare of the athletes”, said the President of the World Athletics Association in the sports show. The entire sports calendar is up for debate, governments would “do not solve the problem”.
The health of the athletes “must be our number one”said Coe. The association was criticized at the 2019 World Cup in Doha for hosting the marathons, which caused problems for some participants despite the nocturnal date. At the Tokyo Olympics, endurance disciplines were moved to higher-altitude Sapporo.
Coe: “Governments will not solve the problem”
Coe also referred to unusual heat in Budapest and previously in the US at Eugene in the US Olympic qualifiers. “I believe this will force global sport to reconsider the calendar”said Coe. “If we have a conscience towards the athletes, we have to ask ourselves what future host cities can look like.”
The President of World Athletics criticized the policy. “We’re not going to solve climate change. And governments won’t be able to do that. They’ve uniquely failed to really address the problem. They’re even now stepping away from some targets,” Coe said. “So it’s up to sport to deal with it. We’ve shown in the past that we made bold and difficult decisions. We may need to do the same in terms of climate change.”
“WM in Budapest? One of the best in history”
Coe rates the competitions in Budapest positively. “We had a passionate audience. We had a city that really embraced these championships,” said Coe. The athletes have shown that they have overcome Corona and the lockdowns. “I have no reason to doubt that this World Cup will be regarded as one of the best championships in history.”
In Hungary there was also criticism of the World Cup alignment. The country is suffering from a recession and very high inflation. The expenditure for the World Cup, including the construction of the stadium, is said to have amounted to up to one billion euros. In addition, the European Union has repeatedly criticized deficiencies in the rule of law in Hungary since Prime Minister Victor Orban has been trying to undermine the independence of the media and judiciary.
German results – “don’t despair too soon”
Asked about the German team who are yet to win a medal, Coe said Germany had “some good results”. “Germany are also missing important team members,” he said, referring to failures such as Malaika Mihambo and Konstanze Klosterhalfen. “That would have been a serious problem in any country on the planet.” The German team should not despair too early – the decision in the decathlon is still to come.