Track to the future as organizers hail rebirth

Athletics has its mojo back. That was the bullish pronouncement from the sport’s hierarchy following a world championships high on ticket sales and low on controversy.

Organizers on Sunday revealed they had sold a record number of tickets for an IAAF World Championships, with 705,000 coming through the turnstiles over 10 days of competition at London Stadium, while another 150,000 spectators lined the streets to watch the marathons.

After decades of doping scandals had lowered public confidence in track and field, the big attendances in London offer evidence the sport is winning back fans.

“London 2017 has given athletics its belief back,” said organizing committee CEO Ed Warner.

“Sport is great theatre and drama, and the end is unscripted. We wanted to provide a great stage for this drama.”

IAAF president Seb Coe agreed.

“I have witnessed growing confidence within the sport over the last year, growing confidence to take tough decisions, growing confidence in reforms which have not just made the sport safer but come to represent a culture shift,” Coe said.

Last year’s Rio Olympics were overshadowed by the Russian doping scandal, with the bulk of that country’s athletics contingent banned from the Games as a result.

At these championships, over a dozen Russians who were considered clean competed as “authorized neutral athletes”, winning one gold medal and five silvers.

Darya Klishina, who was the only Russian to compete in athletics at Rio because her drugtesting record was established in the United States, said the IAAF’s policy on Russia took the pressure off her.

“I enjoyed these championships. I was without any nerves for the first time in my life,” said Klishina, who won silver in the long jump last Friday.

“It was good for me and I could be focused just on my result.”