Coe wants more head-to-heads

TRACK and field fans were offered a small glimpse of the future at the world indoor championships this past weekend, with athletics supremo Sebastian Coe promising nothing is off the table as he tries to rebuild the savaged sport.

With his sport battered by doping scandals, and deserted by fans and sponsors, there has been no honeymoon period for Coe, who took over the job of president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in August.

Coe freed Portland organisers to experiment with the format, the meet taking on a rock show vibe as athletes emerged from a tunnel for introductions to flashing lights and billows of smoke while thumping music provided the background sound track for the entire meet.

But Coe is also promising major renovations from the ground up to rebuild trust among athletes, fans and sponsors by introducing new doping guidelines, a coordinated calendar, an emphasis on social media and plenty of razzmatazz to pull in the younger fans every sport covets.

“The overwhelming challenge is... how do we excite more young people to want to be part of our sport? Our product is athletics, our business is entertainment and we must not ever forget that.”

No idea would be too far-fetched, with Coe even floating the whimsical prospect of an athletics league, where city franchises would draft athletes.

Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt and other top names declined to test themselves in Portland.

“We need to get them (stars) out there more, we need more head-toheads and we need to have a longer season,” explained Coe. “... We do not have enough athletics.” – Reuters