Coe eyeing a second term as IAAF chief
ABU DHABI • Former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe yesterday all but confirmed that he would run for a second term as president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at the global governing body's congress in September.
The 62-year-old was elected to the post in Beijing in 2015 amid a storm of doping scandals and has spent much of his term trying to battle the use of banned substances.
Expressing his desire to transform track and field over the next few years by changing the competition structures to engage a wider and younger audience, the Briton told the Leaders Sport Business Summit he had "a passion to see that through".
REUTERS
Pole Banka is Europe's choice to lead Wada
WARSAW • Poland's Sport Minister Witold Banka has been chosen as Europe's candidate to become the next head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), which has continued to face criticism over its handling of its Russian affiliate.
Banka had proposed establishing a separate funding mechanism to help countries with less developed anti-doping systems fight the problem.
Poland's Ministry of Sport and Tourism said on Wednesday that Wada would vote on a new president at a conference from Nov 5-7 in Katowice, Poland.
REUTERS
Barca rout Sevilla to reach Cup semis
BARCELONA • Philippe Coutinho struck twice as Barcelona mounted a comeback to thrash Sevilla 6-1, sweeping into the semi-finals of the King's Cup with a 6-3 aggregate score on Wednesday.
After a 2-0 first-leg defeat in Seville last week in which they rested key players, the Spanish champions were ruthless at the Nou Camp with Ivan Rakitic, Sergi Roberto, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi also getting on the scoresheet.
Real Betis, whose Benito Villamarin stadium will host the final on May 25, beat Espanyol 3-1 at home after extra-time to progress 4-1 on aggregate.
REUTERS
Juventus booted out of Italian Cup
TURIN • Four-time defending champions Juventus crashed out of the Italian Cup on Wednesday with a 3-0 quarter-final defeat by Atalanta, while Roma suffered a humiliating 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Fiorentina.
Juventus had been bidding for a fifth consecutive Serie A and Cup double this season.
However, a brace from Duvan Zapata, which followed Timothy Castagne's opener, put the home side through to a semi-final meeting with Fiorentina.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
