2030 CWG to have mixed 4x400m relay, mile race : World Athletics chief Seb Coe

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) The mixed 4x400m relay and the mile race, which were added to the programme for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, are also set to continue at the 2030 Ahmedabad Games, with World Athletics (WA) viewing both events as adding significant value to the track and field programme.

World Athletics, the sport's governing body, had announced earlier this year that the mile race -- last run in the 1966 edition -- will replace the 1500m, while the mixed 4x400m will be added to the athletics programme for the 2026 Glasgow CWG.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the two events are being viewed as permanent fixtures in the Commonwealth Games programme.

"Yes, I see this as being a permanent fixture in that landscape. The reason for the mile is I think it's a nod, a good nod, to history and tradition, but also innovation at the same time," Coe replied to a PTI query during a virtual interaction with a select group of journalists.

"If you think about the Miracle Mile, that is something still talked about in our sport. So yeah, I think this is a good addition," said the 69-year-old Briton during a year-end interaction.

The men's mile run in the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games was remembered as the 'Miracle Mile' after gold winner Roger Bannister of England and silver medallist John Landy of Australia both ran under 4 minute.

Regarding the introduction of the 4x400m relay, Coe said, "We road tested those very carefully in advance. We ironed out some of the issues that were flagged when we asked some of our active member federations, particularly those that are familiar with relays, to look at.

"But I think the council and our competition teams have a view that this actually adds additional interest to the athletics programme." 2030 CWG in Ahmedabad very important from perspective of athletics =========================================== He said the Commonwealth Games are very important from the perspective of athletics as the competition is very tough.

"Winning a Commonwealth Games medal in track and field is statistically very hard. If you want to win an endurance title, you have to take on the best, including, of course, Kenya. If you want to win a sprints title, you've got Jamaica and the UK and Canada sitting there in the wings.

"So look, this is a tough championship. The track is always of a very high order." Coe, a gold medallist at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, said the 2030 Commonwealth Games will be very important for the further promotion of track and field in India.

"India is an important market for us. It has a lot of untapped potential. Track and field is becoming more popular in India, partly driven by some of the outstanding performances of Neeraj Chopra.

"And look, the opportunity to stage our events for commercial and for participatory reasons in a growing market, in a growing sports marketing market, is really important. And that's got to be a good thing. And we've had lengthy discussions with the Indian federation and even some commercial partners about extending that footprint.

"The Commonwealth Games, of course, in 2030 will be a very important moment, particularly in the promotion of track. Athletics is one of the new core sports for the Commonwealth Games," said Coe, adding that World Athletics would want more events to take place in India.

The World Athletics Continental Tour event was upgraded to silver for 2026 from bronze this year. India has bid for the 2028 World U20 Athletics Championships, and made strategic bidding of both the 2029 and 2031 Senior World Athletics Championships.

'Depth of talent really sumptuous' ===================== Coe waxed eloquent on the depth of talent athletics has currently.

"It's a depth of talent we probably haven't seen in a few generations. I'm not talking about one or two big names. In every one of our disciplines, track, indoors, outfield and road, we have a depth of talent, young talent coming through, which is really sumptuous." Commercially also, Coe said, 2025 has been an "extraordinary year".

"In the last four years we've grown our revenues by some 25%. And of course, the very big number was around our outstanding World Athletics Championships in Tokyo where we had 1.4 billion viewer hours. We sold over 600,000 tickets in Tokyo with sellout sessions pretty much every night of the week." "Next year, we have six World Athletic Series events, we have Ultimate Championships, European Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, African Championships and Youth Olympic Games." 'Delivery of services important in an unpredictable world' =================================== "Outside of athletics, I sit on Boards as diverse as mining, insurance, sports marketing, and the National Lottery. And there is one common theme, that is, how do we maintain meaningful and impactful work to our end-users by improving delivery of services. We have to drive efficiencies across our operations with the use of technology," Coe said.

Coe, a former member of British Parliament, said athletics as a sport has an "unprecedented opportunity to build lasting geopolitical and geo-economic relationships in the fractured world".

"We're in a world in which markets and industries are deliberately fractured, often to align with geopolitical interests of a major power. New alliances are being formed. Industries are being disrupted through sanctions and/or tariffs and other political motivations. This is leading commercial interests being overruled by geopolitical politics.

"Many of our major events next year are in Europe, Africa, United States, South America, There's the ongoing work and relationship with China for the 2027 World Championships." PTI PDS PDS ATK PDS