Storm delays start of World Athletics Championships
A thunderstorm pushed back the start of the men's 20-kilometre race walk, the first event of the World Athletics Championships, by two hours on Saturday. Athletes were minutes from starting when officials announced the delay. The start of the morning session inside the stadium, which was scheduled to start with the men's shot put qualifying, was also delayed by an hour due to the adverse weather. The evening session of the opening day includes finals in the men's shot put, women's 10,000 metres and the mixed 4x400 relay. Earlier, the head of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, warned that the sport faces an uncertain future in the face of the changing climate, with athletes already suffering, while some member federations' countries might not even exist in the future. Nearly 80 percent of athletes surveyed by World Athletics said they are seriously concerned about the climate crisis, and some 75 percent said their competition or training has already been affected, Coe said on the eve of the world championships. In a summer that has seen wildfires raging, record high temperatures across southern Europe and relentless flooding in Asia, the World Athletics president said sports federations cannot rely on governments to avert the climate crisis. "Where would I start?" the twice Olympic champion said at a press conference on Friday. "I genuinely don't think governments are going to meet any of the targets that are being identified. And this is very much a personal view, I'm not speaking on behalf of World Athletics. It's something that I have felt very strongly about for a long time." (Reuters)