Bubka suggested while attending the SportAccord event in London last month that the capital's failure to follow through on three previous bids would harm their current enterprise.

But Warner, who is here in the Qatari capital to observe the way in which Qatar, one of London's three rival bidders, hosts the opening IAAF Samsung Diamond League meeting of the season, maintains that he has drawn much encouragement from speaking recently to both men.

"I've had some great conversations with Sergei and with President Diack," he told insidethegames.

"We spent a lot of time with them when they were over for SportAccord.

"I think they both absolutely understand the London project and are hugely supportive of it.

"I'm not saying they are voting for us in 2017 or anything of the sort, but the thrust of our project is something they understand and are encouraged by, there's no doubt about that.

"We saw that also with conversations we had with Sergey when he was over for the European Athletics congress only a few weeks ago.

"And I think you saw that in the comments that President Diack made only a couple of months ago about the retention of the athletics facility in the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

"He was very clear what he was looking to happen there.

"They are both dyed-in-the-wool athletics men who want to see the sport prosper globally, and the UK is an important market for athletics - the IAAF needs athletics to be strong in all corners of the world including in the UK."

Warner believes the London 2017 is "in great shape", adding: "I think it's the legacy proposition which is unique.

London is one of world's biggest developed cities that was awarded the Olympics partly on the back of the establishment of an athletics facility of world class standard within the city.

"And there is an opportunity here to consolidate the very arguments that were made for London to win the 2012 Games.

"The unique proposition we have for London includes the activation of the legacy plan, so the sport of athletics can be seen to be deeply ingrained in the capital and the country's hearts and minds for a long time to come, rather than the Olympics being a fleeting circus that arrives in town and leaves a couple of weeks later."

But Warner believes the timing of a following World Championships will be crucial in enabling the Olympic legacy to be enhanced.

"The longer you leave it, and say 'Oh London can come later, later..' the harder it is to build on the momentum of 2012," he said.

"It's for the IAAF Council to decide what the right time is.

"We just hope they support our argument of the sooner the better for London, because legacy is at the heart of what we want to achieve.

"I think these iconic sporting events, for any sport, not just athletics, need to both push into new territories but also to reinforce the traditional strengths and audiences that are based in the older geographies of the sport.

"So I think it's exciting for athletics that the World Championships will be in Korea this summer, and I absolutely would like to see them in the Americas at some point, and Australasia, and the Middle East, and Africa.

"These are all potentially great venues for the World Championship of athletics in years to come.

"But you have to intersperse novelty with tradition, and getting the rotation right is doubtless something the IAAF will be thinking very hard about."

Warner believes one of the strongest factors in London's favour is its multicultural make-up.

"We've got in London arguably the most diverse, multicultural city in the world with a natural fanbase for all 200 plus nations that are members of the IAAF, right there, already living in London," he said.

"So yes, spectators will come from all over the world, but they will also come from every corner of our city to support the World Championships.

"We think that's a very compelling proposition."

Warner added that he was "confident" that the judicial challenge being made by Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient against West Ham taking over the Olympic Stadium would not hinder London's bid.

"We know we've got really stiff competition in three other bidders," he said.

"And one of the reasons I'm here this weekend is to see athletic in action in Qatar because we recognise after their success of winning the 2022 World Cup and also the success they had last year in staging the first Diamond League meeting, which they will no doubt repeat this year, that they are really stiff opposition.

"So I'm keen to see what athletics is like here because we need to see what we are up against."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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