IAAF President Sebastian Coe, who is at the center of controversy over his links to Nike, has admitted that the process by which the 2021 World Championships were awarded to Eugene in America was wrong, The Times newspaper reported Thursday. The report came as the International Association of Athletics Federations council met in Monaco with mounting pressure on Coe over the Oregon-based multinational sportswear firm and doping in Russia. Bjorn Eriksson, who led a rival bid by Gothenburg for the 2021 championships, said Coe telephoned him Wednesday to say it had been wrong to give the event to Eugene without a formal bid process, The Times reported. Coe stressed, however, that he had not been responsible for the decision that was made in April, the report said. Eriksson also said Coe had indicated that the Eugene award was being investigated by French police as part of a corruption inquiry into the IAAF leadership of Lamine Diack, who stood down in August. "If I understand Sebastian Coe correctly, he said, ‘I agree that the procedure wasn't correct', but he claims he wasn't involved in this, others are," Eriksson said. Coe had been a strong supporter of Eugene's bid for the 2021 championships and was part of the IAAF council that voted this year to abandon the normal bidding process. Nike, which was founded in Eugene, was also a powerful backer of the bid. Coe acts as a paid ambassador to Nike and Tuesday the BBC said it had seen an email in which a Nike executive said Coe had assured him he would "reach out" to Diack on behalf of Eugene. Coe has denied any wrongdoing and any conflict of interest in his Nike deal. IAAF party falls flat In Monaco, there was an uneasy, faintly embarrassed atmosphere around the Fairmont Hotel on Monte Carlo's seafront Wednesday, in stark contrast to previous years when the suits and the spikes of world athletics have come together to celebrate their sport. On Thursday the Council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was meeting to go through the latest developments in the doping and corruption scandals that have ripped the heart out of track and field. In previous years the November Council has been the precursor to the IAAF Gala, when the sportsman and sportswoman of the year are honored in a glossy, hugely expensive and self-congratulatory ceremony. This year, the council members and officials will pack their bags Friday and return home, the gala having been canceled in the wake of the worst period the sport has ever experienced. There is precious little appetite for a party. "It's not the time. We're not doing media," one told Reuters, even insisting on anonymity for that comment. So, instead of being lauded on stage in their finery, the shortlisted stars such as Usain Bolt, Ashton Eaton, Genzebe Dibaba and Dafne Schippers, along with the world's media will hear of the award winners via an emailed news release.
