Track legend Coe praises SPAR European Team Championships innovations

Lord Sebastian Coe talking about SPAR European Team Championships said: 'It is vitally important that we think creatively about the presentation of our events, particularly for younger audiences.'

Middle distance legend Sebastian Coe has praised many of the innovative new rules changes that European Athletics introduced at the SPAR European Team Championships last weekend.

Lord Coe KBE visited the Portuguese host city of Leiria during the championships and saw first hand how the rules were applied and what effect they had.

'The rule changes in the sprints, and particularly the jumps, are a positive step forward, although the elimination laps (in the long distance) races need further thinking,' reflected Coe, a vice-president of athletics' world governing body the IAAF.

With Coe one of the most authoritative figures in the sport, his view will definitely be taken into consideration as European Athletics embarks on a review of the championships ahead of next year's event.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz earlier this week said, 'We are planning to get feedback from all our stakeholders including TV, media, athletes, officials and spectators in an effort to continuously improve the event and make it more attractive for a wider audience.'

Coe added: 'Focusing the stadium's attention on the concluding four attempts (in the horizontal jumps and throws) is a positive ... but overall it is still vitally important that we think creatively about the presentation of our events, particularly for younger audiences.'

He also joined Wirz in acknowledging that there are some issues that have to be addressed concerning the endurance events during European Athletics' forthcoming consultancy phase about the inaugural championships.

Coe, a two-time Olympic 1500m champion and a world record breaker at a variety of distances in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ran three times in the former SPAR European Cup and won over 800m in 1979 and 1981.

In that era, men's and women's teams competed for separate titles but the SPAR European Team Championships has brought together the sexes into a single contest to decide the continent's top athletics nation.

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