Tokyo Warm-up Facilities at World Athletics Championships Fall Short, Says Lord Coe

World Athletics president Lord Coe acknowledges the warm-up facilities in Tokyo are "not perfect", after athletes criticised the long bus journey to Yoyogi Park.

Logistical Challenges

The main warm-up track at Yoyogi Park is a 15-minute, 2.5 km bus ride from Japan National Stadium, forcing athletes to leave their hotels nearly an hour before competition. Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson described the extended routine as "draining".

Coe admitted organisers faced transport and scheduling hurdles since losing the Olympic Games warm-up venue. "We needed efficient transport systems," he said. "Although it isn't perfect, we've done everything possible to optimize access despite traffic constraints."

US runner Nikki Hiltz called the arrangement "weird," while Jamaican coach Stephen Francis said it was "not befitting the top meet of the year." World Athletics responded that similar configurations have been used at previous global championships and that all athletes face the same conditions.

New Gene Testing Protocol

Coe confirmed that all female athletes at the championships underwent a one-time genetic test to detect the presence of a Y chromosome. The policy, effective from September, aims to protect the integrity of women's competition. The cheek swab screening was carried out under tight deadlines, with federations cooperating to implement the rule.

Despite acknowledging imperfections in warm-up logistics, organisers emphasise they have maximized solutions within venue limitations and introduced genetic testing to preserve fair competition in women's events.

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