IAAF president Lamine Diack said the usual bid process was bypassed because of financial support offered by the governor of Oregon, the US Olympic Committee and NBC’s commitment to produce and broadcast the event.
DPA/Berlin
The world athletics championships will be held for the first time in the United States after the world governing body IAAF yesterday awarded the 2021 edition to Eugene, Oregon, without a bid process.
The proceedings however drew a sharp reaction from Sweden, who had planned a bid with Gothenburg, and Europe in general.
The IAAF said it bypassed the usual bid process and chose Eugene — the birthplace of sportswear giant Nike — because of the financial support offered by the governor of Oregon, the US Olympic Committee and NBC’s commitment to produce and broadcast the event.
“In granting the championships to Eugene, the IAAF Council have made a clear choice on a strategic decision that enables us to take advantage of a unique opportunity that may never arise again,” IAAF president Lamine Diack said in a statement.
The IAAF said the decision was “in response to what was seen as a unique strategic opportunity to host the IAAF World Championships for the first time in the USA”.
Eugene had unsuccessfully bid to host the 2019 world championships which went to Doha, Qatar.
“We are deeply disappointed and mad with how this has taken place, and I conclude that this is not fair play,” Swedish Athletic Association president Bjorn Eriksson said.
“We had at least expected to hand in a formal bid according to the IAAF guidelines. The handling of the matter appears to be almost rigged, and can hardly benefit athletics.”