Britain has embarrassingly had to pull out of three catastrophic attempts to stage the competition in 2003, 2005 and 2015 in a series Bubka described as "not positive at all".

But Warner claims the comments have been taken out of context and that the Ukrainian is in fact supportive of the 2017 bid.

"We had an excellent series of meetings with both Lamine Diack and Sergey Bubka at SportAccord this week, including with the Mayor of London [Boris Johnson] and Minister for Sport [Hugh Robertson]," Warner said.

"The feedback we have had from the IAAF has been very good, which has encouraged us that not only will we submit a highly competitive bid for the 2017 World Championships, but that it will have a very good chance of success.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the IAAF over coming months to ensure that our bid is the best bid it can be for both athletics in the UK and the sport globally."

Bubka has also released a statement praising London's chances of hosting the 2017 Athletics Championships in order to clarify his views on the issue.

"I am delighted that the decision has been taken to retain the athletics track at the Olympic Stadium when the Games are over," said Bubka, who is also a high ranking International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.

"If London wins the 2017 World Athletics Championships bid, it will prolong the promotion of athletics in the United Kingdom and continue the engagement of youth which is so crucial to the visions of the IOC and IAAF.

"This week has underlined once again how important sport is in the UK and in my meetings with Lamine Diack and Sebastian Coe, Mayor Boris Johnson and Ed Warner, that passion has shone through brightly.

"Sports Minister Hugh Robertson also gave us assurances that the Government will provide financial backing and I am extremely positive following all the meetings I have had.

"I am hugely impressed by the massive transformation that is going on in East London and the professionalism of the organising committee to ensure that the venues are completed so far in advance."

In addition, Bubka praised London 2012 chairman Coe who is also an IAAF vice-president and widely seen as his most likely rival for IAAF Presidency when Diack steps down.

"Seb Coe and his team will ensure that London puts on a superb Olympic Games next year and I am confident that if they are successful with their bid, the Athletics Championships in six years time would be equally memorable," Bubka said.

"Of course, there are a number of very strong bidders for the 2017 Athletics Championships and we will be studying each bid on its merits and how it can promote the future of our sport."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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