IAAF cancels awards gala
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Track and field’s governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF), has cancelled this year’s IAAF World Athletics Gala.
The Gala was scheduled for Saturday, November 28 in Monaco.
The announcement follows the detention of former President Lamine Diack.
“Given the cloud that hangs over our association this is clearly not the time for the global athletics family to be gathering in celebration of our sport,” IAAF President Sebastian Coe said in a media release on Friday.
“However we will rightly still honour the outstanding achievements of the sport’s athletes. Therefore the Athlete of the Year and other annual honours will still be awarded and will be promoted and announced on the internet and social media. The IAAF will seek a suitable occasion in the future for the presentation of these awards to be made to the winners,” he added.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who won his third World Championships sprint treble in Beijing, China earlier this year, has been nominated in the men’s sprints.
Paul A Reid