French authorities have launched an investigation which will probe the International Association of Athletics Federations’ (IAAF) decision to award the 2021 World Athletics Championships to Eugene.

A report published by the BBC revealed that the decision will be scrutinised as part of prosecutors’ investigations into corruption allegations levelled at former IAAF president Lamine Diack.

The US city, which is home to sportswear firm Nike’s TrackTown USA athletics centre, was awarded the championships in April without a bidding process.

During the April meeting of the IAAF council, then president Diack announced a vote on giving the event straight to Eugene, in which 23-1 voted in favour, including IAAF president Sebastian Coe. Coe has claimed that he was unaware of Diack’s decision to call the vote until a few days beforehand.

Coe, Diack’s successor as IAAF president, was up until two weeks ago an ambassador for Nike – for which he was paid £100,000 (US$151,330, €138,087) annually – but has consistently maintained that there had been no conflict of interest.

Last month, the BBC obtained an email which appeared to show Nike executive Craig Masback discussing a conversation between himself and Coe in which the IAAF president “made clear his support for 2021 in Eugene”.

However, Coe told BBC Radio 4 this morning (10 December) that picking a location without a bidding process is “not without precedent” and was the “best opportunity in the foreseeable future to get world athletics into the United States”.

French police have already questioned Diack, who has been accused of earning €1m (£723,980, $1.1m) as part of a ploy to cover up suspected doping in Russian athletics. Diack has strongly denied these claims. His legal advisor Habib Cisse and the former head of the IAAF’s anti-doping unit, Gabriel Dolle, have also been questioned.

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