Nothing "legally obliges Vin Lananna and the leaders of the 2021 world track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, to surrender their prize and re-enter a formal bidding process next year," according to Christopher Clarey of the N.Y. TIMES. But "in view of the circumstances and in light of track and field's shattered credibility, handing it back would be a strong signal that the sport is truly serious about embarking on a more transparent path, one in which too much power and influence no longer rests with too few." Former head of the Gothenburg, Sweden 2021 bid team Bjorn Eriksson said, "I think that would be very, very natural. I would be happy if Gothenburg would try a second time, just for fairness and justice." The U.S., "long the dominant nation in track and field, has never staged the world outdoor championships." Lananna is president of Tracktown USA, and "lobbied for 2021 while emphasising that Eugene's coalition of public and private financing might not hold firm for long." He traveled to Monaco in February to "discreetly meet" then-IAAF President Lamine Diack. Diack, eager to bring the world championships to the U.S. as part of his presidential legacy, "decided to put Eugene on the agenda at the IAAF council meeting in Beijing in April." Despite Gothenburg's interest, the IAAF council "chose to skip a formal bidding process and instead vote on whether to award Eugene the event unilaterally." The vote, by secret ballot, "was 23-1 in favour with one abstention." Diack: "We had to make a strategic decision, and to go to the United States is very important to us" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/25).
