Coe on IAAF clean up mission

I want a sport that people can again trust.

“Yes”, Coe, himself a middle-distance Olympic gold medallist, said when asked if he could lead athletics out of the mire.

“I was aware that we had a problem but not the specific numbers”.

The IAAF itself has also been beset by corruption allegations regarding the taking of bribes to cover up doping.

Diack, who presided for almost 16 years at track and field’s governing body – with Coe as a vice president for his last eight years, pocketed more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) from the alleged cash-for-silence scheme, according to French authorities.

Nevertheless, he said he had not been oblivious to reports of doping in the sport. I do need to create structures and coaching pathways for clean athletes to do what they want to do.

After more than two hours, Coe was questioned on his association with sportswear giant Nike.

On Monday three Kenya Athletics officials, including president Isaiah Kiplagat, were provisionally suspended by the ethics commission of the IAAF, which is looking into allegations of “subversion” of the anti-doping process in Kenya and “improper diversion” of funds received from Nike.

Coe believes he can drive through change, and said: “I am absolutely focused on doing that and if we don’t do that, I know there are no tomorrows in our sport”.

Coe gave no clear response when asked by Farrelly whether he was displaying a “lack of curiosity” or “willful blindness” by not questioning Lamine Diack about corruption given that the Senegalese had already been reprimanded in 2011 by the International Olympic Committee over a Federation Internationale de Football Association kickbacks scandal.

The committee called Coe to appear as it explores the allegations.

“It probably expressed my frustration and anger at the time”, said Coe.

He has since insisted he was only referring to stories which had tainted the reputation of clean athletes.

“The issue I took exception to was very selective use of data that could not be used to prove positive tests”.

Andrew Bingham MP put it to Coe that “You were king of the world after London 2012”.

“If I go back to the immediate challenge we have there is Russia’s ban and allegations made about some people in the IAAF”.

The suspended members, according to AK, “will vacate their offices accordingly and will immediately cease to perform their duties in the offices they were elected and/or appointed as per the directives by IAAF Ethics Commission and in line with the AK constitution”. “If I’d thought the noise would’ve got to the level it did, yes, I would have done”, Coe said.