Coe: "We have the chance to think bigger, to rip up the blueprints and banish the 'that's the way we've always done it' mentality."
Friday 27 March 2020 19:27, UK
World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe has suggested the 2021 World Championships could be delayed by a year to accommodate the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The 2020 Olympics, which were due to be held in Japan from July 24 to August 9, have been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, although a new date for the Games is yet to be decided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The next Athletics World Championships are scheduled to take place in Eugene, Oregon in August 2021 but Coe says the event may need be moved to avoid clashing with the Olympics.
"At this stage, it's fair to say nothing is on the table, nothing is off the table," he said.
"But clearly it is an advantage in athletics not to have an Olympics and a World Championships in the same year.
"We have already had good discussions with Oregon and what I can report is Oregon are very clear that they will do whatever they can to help in our deliberations on this.
"No hard and fast decisions have been made. It may well be that one of the options is to move into 2022, but that's where our discussions are now taking place."
Coe expressed his support for the IOC's decision to postpone the 2020 Olympics and believes sport could ultimately benefit from the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic.
"When we get through this, and we will, we will be braver and more innovative," he said. "We will be more collaborative and resilient. We will be stronger and more tolerant. We will be more global, not less.
"In sport, we have a unique opportunity not to tip toe around things and tweak at the edges.
"We have the chance to think bigger, to rip up the blueprints and banish the 'that's the way we've always done it' mentality.
"Ironically, I believe social distancing will actually bring us closer together as a community and sport can sit right at the centre."
