World Athletics President Sebastian Coe Struggles to Ignite US Track and Field Passion, Calls It: ‘Always a Riddle’

The 2024 athletic season has started off with a flourish, and now the hype is building around the 2024 Paris Olympics, ready to kick off in July. With athletes and the authorities giving the finishing touches to the preparations, the fans will be greeted with a month full of incredible sporting finesse. World Athletics is also not far behind in presenting the French extravaganza with the best of its resources.

However, fans have always been enthusiastic about the competitive events, but Sebastian Coe, the President of World Athletics, is having a hard time igniting passion for athletics in the US markets and has found it tricky at times. Coe made the earlier claims in a podcast recently.

Sebastian Coe’s perspective on the US market is quite a pickle in and of itself

In an episode of the World Athletics Official Podcast Inside Track, hosted by Sanya Richards-Ross and Richard Kilty, Coe was invited to talk about athletics and the steps that World Athletics is taking for the betterment of the sport. Richard-Ross asked the official to shed light on what steps they are taking to keep the excitement brewing among US fans. To which he replies, “Look, it’s a global challenge, and in some markets it’s easier, but look, you are right, the US for me is always a riddle; you are on balance, always the powerhouse of track and field.”

Citing the example of the Tokyo Olympics, where spectators were forbidden to enter because of COVID, Coe stated that he was returning to the West Coast alongside the winning athletes that also included Sydney McLaughlin, and he expected the media to be there to capture them. But to his surprise, no one was there, which made him feel weird. Nonetheless, he also has his own strategies ready to maintain engagement and is actively working on them.

The strategy is set in motion, and this inexorable juggernaut is looming

Sebastian Coe affirmed that the United States has the potential, but still all this is happening, and that “joining the dots” has been a challenge for him. But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way, as the former Olympian states, “We got to figure out how we can keep ramping that up, yeah, working on that engagement and working alongside the US, you know, US track and field federation.”

The British athlete turned politician also added that they put in a lot of effort during the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Oregon to channel fans’ interest for the 2028 Olympics scheduled to take place in Los Angeles. With all that in place, the 2024 Paris Olympics will be an event to watch out for, especially for United States fans, with all the above claims taken into consideration.

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