PORTLAND — On the afternoon of the first day of competition at the 2016 World Indoor Championships, IAAF President Sebastian Coe maintained that “the sport is still strong.”

Coe, along with Ashton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton and other stars of the weekend’s competition, addressed a large crowd of media and Portland residents Thursday afternoon in Pioneer Courthouse Square. After the athletes departed, Coe, as well as TrackTown USA President Vin Lananna exited the stage to an eager group of media demanding more answers on the recent scandals overshadowing the sport of track and field in the news.

This is the first global championship without Russian athletes since the World Anti-Doping Agency’s report on Russian systematic doping, with the pending ongoing investigation still taking place. Coe said it's “not a natural instinct” to see athletes sitting out of championships, especially as a former athlete himself. However circumstances of the WADA report, he said, warranted immediate action, including banning Russian athletes from Portland 2016.

“I’ve got to make sure that people trust the federation and also that the clean athletes trust the systems that they’re in,” Coe said. “I think there’s a real appetite for change in the sport and for grasping the situation. These have been challenging days but the sport is still a strong sport.” 

The newly minted IAAF President updated the crowd on the task force entrusted with investigating the Russian Athletic Federation. A unanimous decision by the IAAF council has allowed investigators more time to report on progress and a conclusion is set to be delivered in May.

“We have to make sure that the national federations and the work of the international federations are in alignment with national anti-doping agencies,” Coe said. “That has to be in alignment.”

Through the pressing questions, Coe was adamant on the power of one word: trust.

“I’m sure there are [clean athletes] but the reality of that is we need to get athletes back into systems that people are trusting. And the greatest damage… if we do nothing about this… is to the clean athletes themselves. The seriousness of the situation warranted a unanimous decision and we do seek change.” 

One step in the right direction for the sport could be the creation of an independent integrity unit that Coe said will deal with anti-doping but also several pressing issues in athletics such as age manipulation, transgender athletes, illegal betting and transfers of allegiance. Coe also noted that the IAAF will work even more closely with WADA.

“We want to be within the WADA code, and although there will be an independent tribunal looking at the discipline and sanctions it’s really about the changes,” Coe said. “It’s about the way we are approaching results management, which is really where I think we can improve the system. But we also need to make sure the athletes have the ability to take appeals to CAS [Court of Arbitration For Sport]. We’re not preventing that but I just want to speed up the process and create a great level of independence in the system.”

While a cloud of doping scandals loomed over Coe’s presence, Lananna was optimistic about the seized opportunity of a global championship on U.S. soil. Refusing to comment on the absence of Russian athletes, the track and field legend insisted on focusing on the the tremendous amount of athletes that are present in Portland.

Hear what Vin Lananna had to say at the Portland 2016 Press Conference below.


“I think that when we bring events like this here and we have this big international competition in the United States, I think that’s what really tells the story,” Lananna said, diverting from the mass of doping scandals in the sport.

Mentioning the special relationship between track and field and the state of Oregon, Lananna said that this indoor championship in Portland is an opportunity to do “really cool things.” While all the action will take place in the Oregon Convention Center, the medal ceremonies will highlight the end of every evening in Pioneer Courthouse Square, just under two miles from the site of competition. The square, located in the heart of downtown Portland, is complete with the awards podium, full stage, as well as food and drink venues. Just outside the entrance is a time schedule of each ceremony, proving just how much event organizers want the city of Portland to engage with the event.

“The sport needs rejuvenation. I think it needs reconstruction, as Seb mentioned, and I’m glad we could be the first one to do it," Lananna said.