Athletics: Coe to stand for second term as IAAF chief

[January 31, 2019]  ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe on Thursday all but confirmed that he would run for a second term as President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at the global governing body's congress in September.

The 62-year-old Briton was elected to the post in Beijing in 2015 amidst a storm of doping scandals and has spent much of his term trying to battle the use of banned substances in the sport.

While he admits that job is not yet done, he feels track and field also needs to be transformed over the next few years by innovative presentation and competition structures to engage a wider, and younger, audience.

"I have a passion to see that through," Coe, the chief organizer of the 2012 London Olympics, told the Leaders Sport Business Summit in Abu Dhabi.

IAAF President Sebastian Coe during the press conference REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

"I think we've made reasonable start and I’d like to be given a chance to see it through."

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

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