Congress to consider draft blueprint for future
By John Mehaffey
PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A draft plan for the
development of the premier sport of the Olympic Games
will be presented to a two-day congress of the
International Association of Athletics Federations
(IAAF) opening on Wednesday.
With track and field struggling to maintain its place
in a competitive market place, IAAF president Lamine
Diack will table a 'World Athletics Plan' to the
congress, which is meeting before the start of the
world championships on Saturday.
The document has been prepared by a Lausanne-based
sports management body called TSE, which has consulted
people at all levels of the sport.
Although around 200 member federations are expected to
field teams in Paris, the world governing body is
increasingly concerned that athletics has become
effectively European based.
Six of the past eight world championships have been
staged in Europe with Paris hosting the ninth and
initial host Helsinki scheduled to stage the 2005
edition.
Athletics attracts only minimal attention in the
United States outside Olympic years and the world's
leading track and field nation has yet to host a world
championships.
"We are looking at a crossroads for the sport," said
one IAAF official. "Are we really a European sport
pretending to be a global one?"
Some of the issues to be addressed are the
difficulties in keeping children interested in
athletics and integrating highly successful road races
such as the London marathon into the sport's overall
marketing structure.
UNWELCOME
One potentially unwelcome development, which will not
be raised at the congress, is the decision of two
Kenyan runners to change their nationality in order to
earn more cash.
At last Friday's Zurich grand prix Saif Saeed Shaheen,
formerly known as Stephen Cherono, set a season's best
in the 3,000 metres steeplechase running for his
adopted country Qatar. The Commonwealth champion said
money had been the motive.
"Qatar will pay $1,000 every month, even after my
retirement," he said. "In Kenya there is nothing like
this."
Another former Kenyan, Albert Chepkurui, finished
fifth in the 5,000 in Zurich under his new name of
Ahmad Hassan Abdullah.
IAAF general secretary Istvan Gyulai told reporters
after a meeting on Monday that several council members
had expressed concern at the pair's decision to switch
nationality. But he said IAAF rules had been observed
and the issue would not be put to this year's
congress.
"Siphoning off athletes to other countries...there is
a concern that this is not a good thing," he said.
Twice Olympic 1,500 metres champion Seb Coe and
leading athletes' agent Jos Hermens will be standing
for one of the 27 elected council posts on Wednesday.
Coe is likely to succeed another Briton, honorary
treasurer Robert Stinson who is standing down after 19
years on the IAAF's ruling body.
08/19/03 06:12 ET
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
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