China “world-class” at hosting global sporting events: World Athletics president
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has praised China’s exceptional capabilities in hosting major sporting events, citing the country’s increasing athletic prowess, during his visit to attend the 9th Asian Winter Games underway in Harbin.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Coe reaffirmed that China is “world-class” at staging global events, as he elaborated on the country’s impressive track record in hosting successful international competitions.
“China is world-class at staging world class events. We have three world championships in the next 2 years in China. We have the world indoor championships in Nanjing in just a few weeks’ time. We then have the world relays in Guangzhou. And then the jewel in the crown in 2027 in Beijing is our world championships and it was in 2016 at the world championships in Beijing that I got elected as President of World Athletics. So, I consider China to be my lucky country,” he said.
Regarding his impression of Chinese athletes, Coe noted that he has seen significant progress as a result of close collaboration between World Athletics and major sports institutions in China.
“China’s athletes are growing in stature all the time. I work very closely with the Chinese Athletics Association and the National Olympic Committee, in fact, the university that I am the chancellor of, which is the number one sports university in the world is working very closely with your coaches in China to develop pathways and programs and mutually help each other. So my relationships with China, both through World Athletics and through my university, and through the National Olympic Committee, they’re very strong relationships,” he said.
Furthermore, Coe highlighted that China represents a vast and expanding market for running and athletics, which is playing a crucial role in promoting the participation of young people in sports globally.
“The importance of China to world athletics is huge. You have more people that are regularly running than any other country in the world, in 5K’s and 10K’s and half marathons and marathons. And that is a very large and growing market for world athletics. It’s also critical because the Chinese government and all the big city governments understand that running and athletics is probably one of the best sports for helping develop the health and vibrancy, both mentally and physically, of young people. So, we see China as an important country for us, not just for our competition, but for also helping us grow our participation and make a contribution to the health of young people,” the World Athletics president said.
Running from Feb 7 to 14 under the theme “Dream of Winter, Love among Asia,” the Asian Winter Games have gathered 1,275 competitors from 34 countries and regions, making this the largest ever edition of the Games in terms of overall participation.
