Sebastian Coe says, Olympic Games not just financial, it's spiritual

The president of World Athletics says he is concerned for the wellbeing of athletes as they prepare for the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games amid the "rumours" of cancellation.

Lord Sebastian Coe, who is also a current IOC member and former UK member of Parliament, said he would not buy into any discussion around a political divide in Japan after London's Times newspaper reported Tokyo was looking for a way out of hosting the Games.

"As a former politician I'm long enough in the tooth to know you don't actually ever comment about the politics of someone else's country," Lord Coe told The Ticket.

"And I certainly don't want to get into the well-worn fragilities of a coalition government."

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued a statement on Friday saying the Government and "all our delivery partners" would continue "to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure Games", and Lord Coe says that is where the focus should be.

"I think the most important thing that I've witnessed in the last few hours, given the nature of that story, is it was immediately knocked down by the Japanese Prime Minister," he said.

"It's probably better for athletes, who I do have concerns about, that they're not swept along from rumour to rumour and losing focus on what they need to really focus on."

The cost of organising the Games has ballooned to more than $20 billion.

Cancellation would not only mean that money — mostly Government funding with some private investment — is sunk, but the IOC's major funding source would also evaporate.

Of course we want the Games but not just for the financial reasons.

"No sport wants to go indefinitely without those big global showcase moments where the world can see, in our case, the most God-given talented athletes on the planet.

Everybody is scenario planning … we're all two-speed organisations at the moment — or should be.

"It's not just financial, I think it is also spiritual — the world needs sport."

"I think we have a responsibility across the sporting landscape to reassure the people of Japan who have shown remarkable resilience.

"I wake up grateful each morning that it is Japan dealing with this challenge and not some parts of the world I could think of."

Above all, Lord Coe remains confident the Tokyo Games will go ahead.

posted Monday January 25th
by Tracey Holmes