World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe hopes the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, will spark a resurgence of the sport in the United States leading into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
In an interview with NBC Sports on Friday, Coe said he'd like to see more one-day track and field meetings in the United States, giving American athletes a chance to earn a living at home and US fans a chance to connect with the sport.
“You are the powerhouse of track and field,” Coe told interviewer Mike Tirico. “You have been for a long time.
“But we also need to have the opportunities for American athletes to be earning their crust, to be performing in front of great crowds and audiences in the US.
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“At the moment, it's rather European tilted. So I'm hoping that we can really start developing more one-day meetings in the US, which is what you had in the past.”
Currently there is only one US meeting, the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, on the prestigious Diamond League calendar.
Coe hopes more US meetings can be developed between 2022, when Eugene hosts the outdoor worlds, and the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
“It's really important for our sport to have a foothold, more than a foothold, in the US,” he said. “Athletics needs to be here.”
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