Sebastian Coe hopes current athletes will break records from the 1980s that ‘are not safe’ | athletics

Sebastian Coe wants the current generation of athletes to finally match world records from the 1980s, which he admits are “may not be the safest of all time”.

The topic has become a major talking point in Eugene after Shericka Jackson ran in a staggering 21.45 seconds to win gold in the world 200m, a time that put her second all-time list behind Florence Griffith Joyner. The controversial American, who also broke the 100-meter record at a time when drug testing was sporadic, died in 1998.

A number of other records in women’s sport have remained untouched since the 1980s, including the 400m, 800m, high jump, long jump, discus throw and shot put. They were all set up by athletes from what was then the Eastern Bloc countries.

“Legally, they are the existing records,” said the World Athletics president. “Legally, there is nothing you can do or say other than prove a positive test. But that was my era, so I have to accept that it was a time when testing was a bit sporadic. We know it was a different time. There are records there that you look at and that you look at. Legally we can’t do anything about it, but it may not be the most secure record in the book.”

Lord Coe said it was impossible to beat the old records but suggested the advent of super spikes and faster tracks could break more of them in the years to come. “I would prefer there to be an organic change through the Shericka Jacksons being tested regularly now,” he added. “We have the Athletics Integrity Unit, we have their own national anti-doping agency, which is functioning much better now than when I was in office, you have agencies around the world.”

When asked about a comparison between modern times and the 80s, Coe added: “It’s a different world. I was part of that world, so I’m not saying I was significantly different from everyone else there – well, I wasn’t a fraud. But the reality is there is very little you can do legally, and I think we have to be realistic.

“There’s nothing I can do to rewrite the record books, but I’ll be open about it – some of these records aren’t sure records.”

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However, Coe, who set an 800m world record himself in 1981 that remained unbroken until 1997, admitted that he felt a certain sympathy for those stuck behind the Iron Curtain and forced into doping by their governments. “If you look at athletes who have had to go through this system, you have more sympathy than for the athletes who voluntarily chose to go through it in liberal democracies,” added the two-time Olympic champion.