In an interview with CNN, Seb Coe says he does not regret standing for IAAF presidency and that he does not underestimate the seriousness of current issues

IAAF president Seb Coe has spoken out in an interview with CNN the day before the second part of a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission report concerning allegations of widespread doping in international athletics is to be published.

On Thursday (January 14) the Richard Pound-chaired Independent Commission is to deliver findings relating to a leaked IAAF database of blood tests as well as conduct that may be contrary to the WADA Code and of a criminal nature.

Questioned on the current state of athletics and whether he can guarantee that he will not be implicated in a cover up, Coe said: “There is no cover up here.

“The ethics board has already made its enquiries, the WADA report we will wait for tomorrow, the French police I have been, as president of the IAAF, in total cooperation with all these enquiries. So, that is where we are.”

On the state of the sport, he added: “Don t run away with the idea that I don’t know that these are dark days of course they’re dark days. The crisis, actually, was probably two or three years ago when what we’re now having to deal with was taking place. Our responsibility now is to make those changes and to take the sport into safe, safe territory.”

Asked by CNN’s Amanda Davies whether he regrets standing for IAAF presidency, Coe replied: “No, not for one moment, and why would I? Because this is a sport for which I owe everything.”

Coe also insisted that he does not underestimate the seriousness of current issues. “One of the accusations is that I don’t sort of get the seriousness of this issue. I do,” he said. “I’m dealing with it every day and I have been dealing with this since, effectively, the first day I took over the role as president.”

You can view the CNN interview with Coe below.

Video via edition.cnn.com

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