World Athletics has a ‘responsibility’ to tackle gender-based violence – Lord Coe

World Athletics president Lord Coe said his organization was committed to tackling gender-based violence following a year marked by the tragic death of Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei.

Cheptegei’s former partner was accused of setting the Ugandan athlete on fire in a gasoline attack in Kenya and the 33-year-old, who had just returned from the Paris 2024 Games, later died of following his serious injuries.

The World Athletics Council – together with the Athletes’ Commission and the Gender Leadership Task Force – committed earlier this month to action, identifying the campaign against gender-based violence as a priority.

Although Lord Coe openly admits that there are limits to what a sports federation is best placed or capable of doing, he insisted: “I simply do not shy away from the responsibility that lies with us.

“This is not unique to Africa. Unfortunately, the high-profile case that caught everyone’s attention happened on this continent. So what I’m really trying to understand is the nature and scale of the challenge and how we can reasonably mobilize resources.

“I want to bring the right people to the table and if World Athletics can help with that, that’s great.”

In 2022, runner Damaris Muthee Mutua became the second female athlete in the space of a year to be killed in the Kenyan training town of Iten after Olympian and world 10,000 meter bronze medalist Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death.

The same week Cheptegei’s death was announced, American gymnast Kara Welsh was found fatally shot in Wisconsin, with her boyfriend the accused.

Like Lord Coe, the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission has stated that it “recognizes that sport may not have the power to implement policies due to a lack of jurisdiction outside of the sporting landscape”, but considers that it “can use the space in which it has jurisdiction”. drive change through three main areas: awareness, education and lobbying for change.

Lord Coe said gender-based violence had “disfigured elements of the sport over the last year”, adding: “While these are horrific issues which are not directly linked to the field of play , we have a responsibility to see what we can do. »

The former Conservative MP is keen to engage with external stakeholders and is planning a trip to Kenya to take part in “fairly high-level discussions” next year, while a “major sportswear manufacturer” has “identified resources”.

Internally, the two-time Olympic champion and his team will review World Athletics’ protective frameworks to see if there is an opportunity to “extend this in a meaningful and practical way to this other area.”

He added: “It’s clearly not an issue we face in competition or on the pitch. It’s a pathology that goes beyond that.

Former British Olympic Association president Lord Coe is one of seven candidates currently in the running to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee, a decision to be made at the 144th IOC Session in March.

He was first elected president of World Athletics – then the IAAF – in 2015, and was elected last year for a third term which will end in 2027.

This year, Lord Coe controversially became the first president of an international sports governing body to introduce prize money for Olympic champions (US$50,000/£39,332), with the intention of also rewarding silver and bronze medalists at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.

While several new independent athletics ventures have recently launched – including Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track, which will debut next year – Lord Coe has brushed off claims they could be seen as “disruption”.

He added: “We should take comfort in the fact that five or ten years ago no one would have wanted to invest from outside in our sport.

“I’m really happy that people see this sport as something to invest in. I have always encouraged people to do their own work and be innovative. It’s a tide that can rise and benefit everyone.

“I don’t see any reason to think it’s about anything other than having more athletes competing.

“If the prize money is there, it will do what I always wanted, which is to give them more well-being. The athletes themselves will make their judgment. »