Seb Coe’s Paris meeting with former athletics chief Lamine Diack cancelled after Senegalese pulls out citing ill health

Seb Coe’s meeting with his predecessor as IAAF president, Lamine Diack, has been cancelled.

Diack, in the midst of a long-running investigation by French financial authorities over corruption and money laundering claims during his tenure, had requested a meeting with Coe in the presence of judge Renaud van Ruymbeke, who is overseeing the case. But the 84-year-old called off Friday’s meeting in Paris, citing ill health.

Coe is understood to have been in the dark around Diack’s reason for calling the meeting, although under French law anyone under investigation can request meetings with those relevant to their case.

For the meeting to be rearranged, Diack, the head of world athletics from 1999 to 2015, would need to lodge a fresh request.

Diack has denied any wrongdoing over allegations of accepting bribes and covering up state-sponsored doping by Russia. His son, Papa Massata Diack, also faces charges over allegations regarding the bidding process about the host cities for the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.