PARIS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has hailed the diversity and unifying nature of athletics as the "heart and soul" of the Olympic Games, with the Paris 2024 track and field competitions having begun in earnest on Friday morning.
The Games' athletics competition opened on Thursday with the men's and women's 20km race walk, with five different nations represented across the two podiums.
In winning the men's race, Brian Pintado notably won Ecuador's first medal at Paris 2024, and only the country's fourth gold medal in history, prompting Coe to praise athletics' diversity.
"I'm delighted that I'm here, because these will be an exceptional Games," Coe told media, including Xinhua.
"I'm delighted to be able to congratulate Ecuador, Brazil and Spain for [finishing] 1-2-3 in the men's 20km race walk, and in the women's 20km race walk, China, Spain and Australia, and that's a pretty good indication of how universal our sport is, that on the first morning of the championships, we're congratulating Ecuador for a gold medal."
"The Olympic Games has the ability to bring people together, particularly in a complicated and convoluted landscape. The world is fractured and divided at the moment, but people come here to watch jaw-dropping sport and the God-given talents of some of the most exceptional athletes that we have," he added.
Coe also defended the integrity of the World Anti-Doping Agency, after the organization was criticized in some quarters for not appealing the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA)'s decision not to punish 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in early 2021 after inadvertently being exposed to the substance through contamination.
WADA accepted the findings, leading to criticism from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who suggested a cover-up had taken place, although an independent review backed WADA's handling of the case.
However, Coe said he had no reason to call into question WADA's judgement over the issue.
"We work very closely with WADA," said Coe.
"We have our own Athletic Integrity Unit (AIU) that we are very familiar with. They are world-class. I think they are gold standard, and we will continue to ensure that they remain in that position.
"I know they work very closely with WADA, and as long as the AIU are advising me that the relationships they have are solid and functioning, I will take that as my steer." ■
