IAAF President Sebastian Coe said that he would "refuse to be bullied over Russia and the IAAF would consider stripping Eugene of the 2021 World Championships if French investigators uncover corruption," according to Rick Broadbent of the LONDON TIMES. In a "defiant defence of his sport," Coe said that he will "pull no punches if French prosecutors find evidence of money-laundering, corruption or a criminal conspiracy with regards to bids for the World Championships," including London 2017 and Eugene 2021. With the World Indoor Championships heading to Portland, in the same U.S. state, Oregon, this week, "the attention is firmly on the latter." Asked if a re-vote for the '21 event was an option, Coe said, "If anything comes out that shows those decisions were made on anything other than the reasons we believe then we have to review them and review them quickly. We will pull them in." French prosecutors are also looking at Doha 2019 and Coe said, "I've written to heads of state saying please cooperate with the French authorities here." Seven months into a four-year term as president, Coe "believes his reforms will be in place by London 2017." Coe: "The return to trust may be beyond my time. That can’t bother me. I can’t say I need to be president when that happens. I probably won’t be. We will get the reforms across the line and then I’ll make judgments about what I want to do with the rest of my life." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko thinks that "his nation’s athletes should be readmitted to the international fold after they were banned on the recommendation of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s independent commission." UK Athletics Chair Ed Warner "sang a different tune," and said that Coe would "invite derision" if the Russia ban were lifted. Coe said that he would not be moved by either, dubbing Mutko's words as "noises off" and saying Warner's decision to "personalise" the issue was "not helpful." Asked if Russia could "seriously have a revolution" four months after being accused of having a cheating culture, Coe said, "No and nobody realistically expects to have a complete resolution to a problem people will recognize from even before my time as an athlete" (LONDON TIMES, 3/15).
