Int'l Association of Athletics Federations presidential candidate Sergey Bubka said that he would "review the flagship world championships, appoint a CEO for the sport and attract new global sponsors if elected president" of the IAAF later this year, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The former world record pole vaulter said that he wanted the sport to "operate more as a business." Bubka: "We are very fortunate to be the number one Olympic sport." When Bubka and British Olympic Association Chair Sebastian Coe were competing, athletics attracted "huge TV audiences and often dominated the back pages of newspapers around the world." Thirty years on, the sport is "fighting to make a connection with the next generation." A shortage of "recognizable personalities, an aging audience, a confusing calendar, a continuing struggle" to attract interest in the U.S. and the "dark shadow of doping has left athletics fighting for a foothold in an ever-more crowded sporting and leisure landscape." Bubka: "We need to run as a business company. We should also establish a business commission to share experience and knowledge to our sport. We must run our office as a business company but never to forget the love and passion of athletics." Bubka said that regional and national federations should "also be taught to operate as marketing agencies for the sport and generate revenues in their territories." He added that there was also "room for more global sponsors to sign up with the IAAF in the coming years while also proposing a review of their world championships after talking to broadcasters and sponsors about the format" (REUTERS, 4/8).
