Sports policy|Sebastian Coe is chairman of the International Athletics Association.
Apeldoorn
International Chairman of the Athletics Association (WA) Sebastian Coe seeks to chair the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The issue will be voted in a couple of weeks in Greece. Coe challenges six other candidates that are trying Thomas Bachin On the lead of the IOC.
He is a double Olympic champion of a 1,500 -meter run who has since worked as a politician and sports influencer. He was the chairman of the London Olympics Organizing Committee and in an important role when the 2012 Games were applied for.
COE, 68, was present at the Apeldoorn European Championships in Athletics on Saturday. He answered questions asked by Ilta-Sanomat, Helsingin Sanomat, Aftonbladet and the Swedish Information Office.
“I want the Olympic movement to be open and approachable. I want the decisions made to be clear and transparent. I want the IOC to be a sports organization that has a social responsibility, ”CEE said at first.
In connection with the social responsibility, what kind of position would the IOC take on the current world political situation in your lead? The US, European countries, China and Russia all pull in different directions. Everyone belongs to the IOC.
Do you want sports to be a neutral platform or do you have basic values that you would take with you as chairman?
I want to look at it from a slightly different perspective. I do not think there is a generation who thinks the world would not have become more complicated. Certainly my parents thought about such a cold war and the Vietnam War.
Is our situation more complicated than a previous generation? Perhaps. Maybe no.
The same principles apply and we can only work with existing things.
I don’t think there is an answer that is good for everyone.
The most important thing is the integrity of the competition. It’s not about passports or politics.
If I am chosen, I have to work with everyone. Sometimes you have to keep your ground up, sometimes you have to adapt.
I was once a British MP. I understand what political challenges are.
It’s easy to present “what about?” arguments (in Finnish but what about it then), but I don’t think it’s a good way to discuss.
We dealt with Russia and its doping matter in a certain way. We excluded the country out of the competition and developed a team.
Without attacking Ukraine, Russia would have already returned to international sports, as the Sports Integrancy Unit (AIU) tested Russian athletes. Russian athletes were part of a new organization where we had employees.
The geopolitical situation was something I couldn’t influence.
If we come to a situation where Ukraine and Russia sign a peace agreement, we must review the situation again.
For my part, I can’t say what is an acceptable peace agreement. It can only do it parties to the agreement.
Sebastian CoE is leading the International Athletics Association for the third time.
Speaking of Russia and war. When will Russia get you to see again in the Olympics?
It depends a lot on what happens over the next few weeks and months. Discussions are constantly held.
If the peace agreement is achieved, we must …
This is how I would chair the International Athletics Association.
If a peace treaty were to be reached, what we should look at in a new light.
What would you think about it if you were also chairman of the International Olympic Committee?
The approach should be similar.
There seems to be a stage where the US is sitting at the conference table with Russia and bringing it back to its district. If the US started putting pressure on WA or IOC, Russia should be released back to international sports, how would you answer?
The decision -making power is entirely in the international organizations of sports. The organizations would evaluate the situation themselves. It’s about sports independence.
Of course, we are not different about the political situation. It would be completely naive to say that sports are outside politics. Of course it doesn’t work.
We need to oppose all the political pressure to take the decision -making power from international sports organizations.
There is no structure that protects against political pressure. It is about people who lead organizations.
In my leadership, the IOC would not accept political pressure.
If you become chairman of the IOC, what do you think about working with Donald Trump when preparing the Los Angeles Olympics 2028?
He is a US president with whom we want to produce the best Olympics of all time. It should be our goal.
Trump’s actions have not had a regularity in the first few weeks of his second season. Can you trust him?
It is not fruitful to discuss this, even though the question is good and I don’t want to be rude.
If you organize the Olympics, you need to work with the host country’s political leadership to ever get the best in the race. And yet, the terms of the host city agreement are met.
It is the only task of the chairman of the IOC. The domestic policy situation is not the responsibility of the President.
Do you trust Trump?
It is not the chairman’s puzzle. There must be a clear and open relationship with the host leader.
Yes or not?
I don’t take part in the discussion. It doesn’t make sense.
I can’t believe that the US President would not want to organize the best races of all time.