World Athletics president Lord Coe has conceded that the warm-up arrangements at the World Championships in Tokyo are “not perfect” following complaints from athletes, but insists organisers have done all they can to mitigate the issue.
Speaking to the BBC, Coe addressed criticism from leading competitors including Great Britain’s Olympic 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, who described the process of travelling between the warm-up track and the Japan National Stadium as “draining.”
“We need to make sure that we have great transport systems,” Coe said.
“It has been a challenge here because, of course, post-Olympic Games we lost the warm-up track we used during the Games.
“It is a little bit further away and we have had to deal with traffic flows at different times of the day, different days of the week.
“We have really looked at that. It isn’t perfect, but I think the athletes are now recognising we’ve done everything we possibly could to make it as good as possible.”
The main warm-up facility is located at Yoyogi Park, around two-and-a-half kilometres from the stadium, with athletes transported by bus on a journey that can take 15 minutes or more depending on traffic.
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Keely Hodgkinson admitted it was ‘draining’ travelling to the stadium at the World Athletics Championships
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For middle-distance runners such as Hodgkinson, that means boarding a bus nearly an hour before competition.
After qualifying for Sunday’s 800m final, the 22-year-old admitted she may have to rethink her pre-race schedule.
“With the whole warm-up situation, you’re warming up for almost two hours,” Hodgkinson said. “It can be quite draining, so maybe we will have to look at doing something better come Sunday.”
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American runner Nikki Hiltz described the setup as “weird,” while Jamaican coach Stephen Francis was more forthright, arguing the distance between the track and stadium was “not befitting the top meet of the year.”
World Athletics responded with a statement stressing that every effort had been made to prioritise athlete preparation within the constraints of available venues.
“The athlete experience is of utmost importance for World Athletics and the local organising committee at these championships,” the statement read.
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“This type of configuration is not unique — as we have seen from previous Olympic Games and other major athletics championships.
“The rules regarding warm-up, call room and transport apply to every team and every athlete without exception.”
Despite the logistical grumbles, Coe praised the quality of performances in Tokyo so far and insisted the federation remains focused on athlete welfare.
The World Athletics chief also confirmed that all female competitors at the championships have now undergone the sport’s new one-time gene test to confirm eligibility for the female category.
“Yes there were some challenges, it was quite a concertinaed time frame, but the vast majority of the athletes and all the member federations really stepped up,” Coe said.
“It’s the right thing to do if you really are committed to promoting and preserving the female category and by implication women’s sport.”
The test, which detects the presence of a Y chromosome, was introduced at the start of September amid concerns over fairness in women’s sport.
Coe declined to say whether any athletes had been ruled ineligible, stressing such conversations remain confidential between medical delegates and athletes.