Coe pleased that world championships are now season's finale

TOKYO :Sebastian Coe said that he has received overwhelming support from athletes and coaches for the decision to make the World Athletics Championships, which begin in Tokyo on Saturday, the "crescendo" of the sport's season.

Other than Doha in 2019 for heat-avoidance reasons, world championships and Olympics have invariably been followed by the finale of the Diamond League.

That meant athletes were coming off what could be the biggest event of their lives only to immediately start preparing to compete again a week or so later.

"I think that not only is this something the athletes are overwhelmingly supportive of, I think it makes sense," Coe said at the championships' opening press conference on Friday.

"We did consult widely with all our stakeholders and I think we settled on the right format."

Coe said that the sport recognised the anomaly of its major global event not being the finale.

"I think they (the fans) were confused about a season that seemed to have its crescendo in a world championship or an Olympic Games and then we were in Zurich or Brussels or wherever a few days later and they couldn't really relate to what that meant," he said.

"I think there is now a pace and a rhythm to it and they know this is the end of the season."

Coe said triple 400m hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm had welcomed the change.

"He told me, 'Now I can get away, I can go into my training camp, I can sleep. I can do all the things that are going to leave me in great shape'," Coe said.

The event's opening weekend features a blockbuster Sunday night when the men's and women's 100m finals will take place within seven minutes of each other, rather than on separate nights as is usually the case.

Coe dismissed suggestions that the men's race,