Lagos -Russia and the U.S. on Saturday indicated their backing of Sebastian Coe in his campaign to become the new president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
According to a statement on an online portal, ‘Insidethegames’, the two countries also pledged to reinvest their entitlement of the Olympic Athletics Dividend which Coe proposed to introduce if elected.
The statement said that France and Qatar have also announced their interest in backing the scheme.
It said that they were also indicating that they plan to vote for Coe at the election, due to be held as part of the IAAF Congress in Beijing on Aug. 19.
Coe had announced last in July that a Dividend, which is in addition to all existing IAAF grants, would be distributed among all 214 member federations.
It, however, added that this was if he was elected to succeed Senegal’s Lamine Diack, who is stepping down after 16 years as head of athletics world governing body.
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The statement said that the backing from Russia and the U.S. was particularly significant because they were the two most successful countries in the sport. (NAN)
