Tokyo warm-up facilities not perfect as Coe defends logistics at World Athletics Championships

World Athletics president Lord Coe acknowledged that the warm-up facilities at the World Championships in Tokyo are not perfect, following concerns raised by athletes including Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson. The main warm-up venue is at Yoyogi Park, about 2.5 kilometres from the Japan National Stadium, a bus journey that can take roughly 15 minutes. That means athletes often catch a bus around an hour before they compete, and Hodgkinson described the situation as draining. Coe said transport and logistics have been a challenge but the organizers have done their best, adding: “We need to make sure that we have great transport systems.” He noted that, post-Olympic Games, the sport lost the warm-up track used during the Games and that the new setup is a bit farther away, with traffic patterns varying by day and time. “We have really looked at that. It isn't perfect, but I think the athletes are now recognising we've done everything we possibly could to make it as good as possible.”

After securing her place in Sunday's 800m final, Hodgkinson said she may have to change her routine due to the warm-up arrangement: “With the whole warm-up situation, you're warming up for almost two hours. It can be quite draining, so maybe we will have to look at doing something better come Sunday.” American middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz described the situation as “weird,” and Jamaican coach Stephen Francis criticized what he saw as logistical issues, including the distance from the stadium to the warm-up track. A World Athletics statement said the athlete experience is of utmost importance and that the rules governing warm-up, call room and transport apply to every team and athlete without exception, adding that the brilliant performances so far speak for themselves.

In a separate development, Coe confirmed that all female athletes competing at the championships have undergone new gene testing. The one-time test, required for female-category athletes in world ranking events from the start of September, is conducted via cheek swab and is intended to protect the integrity of women’s competition by detecting the presence of a Y chromosome. Coe could not confirm whether any athletes were prevented from competing as a result, noting that such decisions are discussed between the athlete and a medical delegate. The move comes amid external reports suggesting that between 50 and 60 athletes who underwent puberty in male bodies have reached the finals in female categories at global and continental championships since 2000. “We have achieved what we set out to do, all our female athletes have been tested. Yes there were some challenges, it was quite a concertinaed time frame, but the vast majority of the athletes and all the member federations really stepped up and helped us do this. It’s the right thing to do if you really are committed to promoting and preserving the female category and by implication women’s sport,” Coe said.