Cities hosting major athletics events that bring int'l prestige and recognition "rejected on Friday suggestions by a commission investigating graft in the sport that bidding for every major world championship since 2009 may have been corrupt," according to Mike Collett of REUTERS. The World Anti-Doping Agency "had also raised concerns about awarding of the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo." Its findings "form part of a broader scandal rocking global athletics involving athletes' use of drugs, official graft and high-level coverups."
The report "called for police to investigate the award of world championship events." London (2017), Doha (2019) and Eugene in the U.S. (2021) "are the next three hosts." Report co-author Richard McLaren said on Thursday that "there was enough information to justify a serious investigation into bidding." Controversy "surrounds in particular the Eugene championships, awarded without any competition." IAAF President Sebastian Coe "cut his ties with Nike after claims he faced a conflict of interest due to the sportswear company's connection to Eugene."
Event organizers TrackTown USA said they were "deeply disturbed and saddened by the allegations in the independent commission report" but stood by their bid. UKA, the governing body of British athletics, said that "its campaign to stage the world championship in London was unblemished."
UKA Chair Ed Warner said, "We have nothing to hide and we would be delighted to spend any amount of time going through our processes with the investigators if that helps root out any miscreants."
The report suggested around $5M of sponsorship money "may have been a factor in swaying the vote" of former IAAF President Lamine Diack to vote for Tokyo. Tokyo 2020 Games spokesperson Hikariko Ono denied that on Friday, saying the reference in the report to the Tokyo decision was "beyond our understanding" (REUTERS, 1/15).
