MONACO (AP) — World Athletics says it lost more than 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) to “systematic theft” which allegedly involved its own employees.
World Athletics said on Thursday it handed over detailed case information to “the relevant judicial and legal authorities for criminal investigation” after an audit discovered suspicious activity over several years. It said it terminated the contracts of one employee and a consultant and another employee had already left.
The Monaco-based governing body of track and field didn't name any of the people it suspects in the theft. It told The Associated Press in an emailed statement that authorities in Britain and Monaco had been contacted.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe pledged to use “the full force of the law" to recover as much of the money as possible.
“Too many organizations brush incidents like this under the carpet, terminating employment with limited information which allows perpetrators to continue their scams and thefts within new organizations. We are not that type of organization,” Coe said.
“We have built a strong reputation for good governance, transparency and for defending what is right, even if it is sometimes a little uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable but it is important that we do the right thing.”
The sum that World Athletics says was taken is equivalent to more than half of the $2.4 million it paid in prize money to gold medalists at last year's Paris Olympics, the first sport to do so. World Athletics said last month its total revenue for 2024 was $99.4 million, boosted by Olympic revenue.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
lteutschel said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.