They might have been placed in the back burner due to Covid-19, but both the World Under-20 Championships and Continental Tour will most certainly hold in Nairobi, World Athletics (WA) has assured.
The world athletics governing body’s President Sebastian Coe confirms both global competitions will go ahead in Nairobi on dates to be confirmed soon and also announced that he has constituted a task force to oversee the distribution of a Sh50 million global relief package for vulnerable athletes affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coe, a former Olympic champion and one-time 800 metres world record holder made the assurance in separate television interviews on Saturday night broadcast by China’s CTGN Africa and Kenya’s K24.
The WA supremo also warned athletes doping that they have nowhere to hide as despite there being a global lockdown due to the coronavirus, testing protocols were still vibrant both at national and global level.
The World Under-20 Championships were scheduled for July 7 to 12 while the inaugural leg of the WA Continental Tour was to be run on May 2, with both at the Moi International Sports Centre.
But Coe said they are still struggling to reschedule the events and get fresh dates for other competitions on their schedule, including the Diamond League circuit.
He noted that he’s in talks with Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei on the possibilities of new dates for the Nairobi competitions which can only be decided when the coast is clear.
“Just yesterday (Friday), Jackson Tuwei, the President of Athletics Kenya, was in conversation with me and with my chief executive and we are trying to create a new space for the championships,” Coe told K24’s Caren Kibbet.
“We actually have to wait patiently for the right moment to be able to re-introduce our one-day meetings as well and we have to do that when it’s safe for the athletes and safe for the communities and when we get clearance from public health authorities and political leaders.
“All this must come together, but rest assured these events will take place when we are able to reschedule them and they will take place in Kenya,” he assured.
Coe said the history of athletics in Kenya and the passion with which the sport is followed in the country placed it in a vantage position to host major championships, including, possibly, the 2025 World Championships.
“I have huge admiration for everything Kenyan athletics has achieved and large parts of my career were defined by my races with people like Mike Boit and great athletes that came after him like Paul Ereng,” the Briton, a two-time 1,500 metres Olympic champion (1980 and 1984) and twice silver medallist over the 800 metres in the same years, said.
Speaking to CTGN’s Saddique Shaban in a separate interview on Saturday night, Coe said WA had formed a special team to oversee the distribution of about Sh50 million aid to vulnerable athletes affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There’s a lot we are doing as a sport and we are working very closely with member federations, understanding the challenges and trying to get competition back to the athletes,” he said via video link from his London home.
“We have created a welfare fund. We’re not a wealthy sport and we don’t have the size of bank accounts that football has… we are trying to create a fund so that we can help, in modest ways, our athletes, even your (Kenyan) athletes, who have suffered due to lack of competition and prize money.
“The sport has been hit hard and we are managing our financial affairs very carefully.
“I’ve appointed a working group to oversee the safe delivery of the fund which is working on the criteria.
“We need to identify those athletes most in need and we’re not here just to replace lost prize money because many athletes also have support from their federations, national Olympic committees and some have sponsors.
“We want to make sure that we are really targeting those athletes that have none of that and who are finding it really difficult to survive. It’s about survival more than it is about replacing lost prize money.”
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