RIVAL TRACK SERIES HAS COE'S SUPPORT

Athletics chief sees bright future for sport, wants Johnson's start-up to be successful

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LONDON - World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says his sport enjoyed a stellar 2024 and is on an upward curve in terms of performance and investment, but he also has a word of warning about the latest athlete to carry the mantle of the "new Usain Bolt".

Coe, who is bidding to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), returned to his bread and butter to review the athletics year, which peaked with amazing action on and inside the purple track of the Stade de France in August.

"Paris cemented the sport absolutely at the centre of the Olympic movement in a year of jaw-dropping performances where we had something like 700 personal bests and two or three hundred national records - extraordinary," he said.

"If you want a definition of global reach as a sport, then 75 countries had top-eight finishes in Paris where 27 won gold and 43 claimed a medal of some description.