Athletics champs in US an impossibility

Jamaica's Usain Bolt celebrates winning the Men's 4x100 Relay final and setting a world record at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. Photo / AP

The IAAF's top-ranking American sees no prospect of the United States hosting track and field's world championships, an event yet to be held in the country that traditionally produces big stars and dominates the medal count.

"We just don't have the wherewithal, starting with the fact that there is no stadium that exists that could accommodate it," said Bob Hersh, the senior vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Thirteen world championships have been held since 1983, with the most recent in August in Daegu, South Korea. Nine championships have taken place in Europe, three in Asia and one in North America (Edmonton, Alberta, in 2001).

The 2013 worlds will be in Moscow and the 2015 edition in Beijing. London and Doha, Qatar, are competing for the 2017 championships.

The US have won 122 medals overall, including 50 gold, at the championships. The Americans led the count again in Daegu with 25 medals in total, 12 of them being gold.

Stanford bid unsuccessfully for the 1997, 1999 and 2001 championships, but is no longer a potential contender because it has no track. It is a pattern that Hersh finds disconcerting.

"You look at large stadiums in cities that are big enough to host it and they've removed the tracks," he said, citing stadiums in Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; and Seattle.

Outside the Olympics, track and field has struggled in the US from a shortage of public interest, sponsors and television coverage. Doping scandals have also tainted the sport.

At a time of financial uncertainty, the chances of developing a stadium capable of hosting the championships aren't promising.

"The operating costs of a world championships are huge," Hersh said. "If you also have the huge capital costs of constructing a stadium that does not exist, or reconfiguring one, that's a lot of money."

Hersh sees no US bid emerging for the 2019 championships and won't speculate on when the country might eventually put forward a candidate.

"There are discussions. It's not something that's buried and forgotten," he said. "It's an issue we'd very much like to address, but the challenges are so great. We can't say we've got a plan or we're going to do this or that in 'x' number of years."

Hersh, a member of the IAAF Council since 1999, was elevated to the No 2 position behind IAAF president Lamine Diack in elections in Daegu. He heads the IAAF evaluation commission visiting London and Doha before next month's vote on the 2017 host city.

- AP