World Athletics prez says questions inevitable about 100m champion Jacobs

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says it’s “inevitable” that questions will be asked about the integrity of breakthrough track and field results at the Tokyo Olympics.

Coe was asked at a news conference if it was frustrating that some doubted whether the surprise win by men’s 100-meter champion Marcell Jacobs had been clean.

Italian and British media reported that Jacobs cut ties this year with a nutritionist who was linked to a police investigation of steroid distribution.

Coe said he would not speak about a specific case, though he acknowledged that after “performances that are outstanding, it is inevitable people will always ask questions.”

The two-time 1,500-meter gold medalist says: “Am I surprised about anything in athletics? Not really.”

He suggests people doubted his own rapid career progress from a “relatively modest athlete” in 1978 to an Olympic champion two years later.