IAAF president Sebastian Coe has received death threats on the eve of the Rio Olympics, believed to be linked to his decision to ban Russian athletes from the Games.
Coe has contacted the Home Office about the barrage of threatening messages that have appeared on social media.
He has become a target for vile tweets, which Sportsmail understands are in Russian, after athletics’ governing body the IAAF, of which he is president, banned 67 of the nation’s track and field team after a state-organised doping programme was uncovered.
The tweets, which sources said were ‘hateful’, have since been deleted. But an insider confirmed to Sportsmail that Coe had contacted Twitter to ask them to investigate the messages, as well as seeking advice from the Home Office.
Russia’s retired gold medal- winning swimmer Alexander Popov, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), added his own sinister twist yesterday when he said about Coe: ‘I hope you sleep well.’ Coe, 59, arrived in Rio earlier this week to attend the IOC’s annual meeting and the double Olympic champion is scheduled to attend tonight’s opening ceremony at the Maracana, which will be one of the most security-conscious events ever staged. Rio is heavily policed, with armed trucks patrolling the streets and Olympic venues.
Coe, who will be accompanied by his wife Carole during 16 days of sport, declined to comment. But an insider said: ‘Seb feels that everything is in place to protect him in the Olympic bubble. He is probably safer here than anywhere else.’
Coe is also chairman of the British Olympic Association, which is responsible for the 366-strong Team GB. He has dined with some of them in the athletes’ village this week.Despite athletics taking a hardline stance over Russian drug cheats, the IOC left Coe isolated when they refused to extend the ban to every Olympic discipline. There is now a Russian team of about 280 taking part in the Games, with wrestling being the only other international federation to issue a sport-wide ban.As Sportsmail revealed, the crowd who waved goodbye to the Russian team in Moscow last week were paid actors. They received 500 roubles (about £5.50) to show their ‘support’.Coe has been staying at accommodation organised by the IOC during their annual meeting but he will move to another hotel when he undertakes his responsibilities with the world athletics governing body. As part of the security clampdown people entering the hotel will be searched.Despite the threats, Coe has been keeping up his fitness schedule by running at his hotel gym and along the beachfront. – Daily Mail