But friends could still cost him everything

AS LORD COE was asked directly in Westminster yesterday, is he the right man to lead athletics out of crisis when he is so closely associated with those now at the centre of the scandal? Coe insisted he was and his passion for his sport is undeniable. But he seems increasingly conflicted and compromised, and unable to answer with any clarity or transparency the most probing, important questions. Frustratingly, a DCMS official forbade any further questioning of Coe from journalists, no doubt to his relief. The first two hours of yesterday’s hearing went fairly smoothly for the new IAAF president. The committee was set up principally to discuss allegations of widespread doping and anything too technical he simply referred to the anti-doping expert sat alongside him. When, however, the conversation moved on to subjects like Nike, the Eugene bid for the 2021 World Championships and corruption allegations involving his predecessor, Coe began to struggle. He maintains he was oblivious to allegations that now see Lamine Diack and other former IAAF officials investigated by French authorities. But this is likely to become more uncomfortable if the second report of the independent WADA commission, due to be published next month, points to more widespread corruption within the world governing body. Indeed, if the IAAF’s controversial decision to take their showcase event to Eugene comes under greater scrutiny, Coe, by his own admission yesterday, was among those who voted for the American city. Then, of course, there is Alberto Salazar; head coach of the Nike Oregon Project and someone under investigation by the United States AntiDoping Agency. Coe has publicly defended Salazar, and while he denied here that his former Nike paymasters had encouraged him to do so he said the American was a close friend. On the face of it Coe should be the perfect man to repair the battered image of athletics. But as the investigators continue their work, one wonders if he might yet pay the price for the alliances he formed in his bid to secure power.