However, it indicates that the organisation was still living beyond its means within weeks of the sports world being plunged into chaos by the emergence of COVID-19.

The consequent postponement of Tokyo 2020 means, moreover, that around $40 million of revenue that it would have been expecting to receive from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about now will instead be shunted into 2021 – and very possibly reduced.

Against this, World Athletics – now headed by former middle-distance running champion Sebastian Coe – is one of 15 International Federations (IFs) to have been granted an IOC loan.

It has previously been indicated that this year should also see it receive a payment for profit share from Dentsu, the Japanese marketing giant that acts as its commercial rights agency.

This would cover the period of 2018-2019.

In 2018 the governing body received an $8.4 million  payment covering the period of 2010-2017.

Marketing income for 2020 and the years ahead should also be higher – 10-year renewals with three leading sponsors – TDK, Asics and Seiko – are said to have been concluded in 2019 “at an uplift of 10 per cent to their previous deals.”

In addition, China’s Wanda signed a decade-long deal to be the first title partner of the Diamond League, in an agreement billed as “the largest sponsorship deal in the history of World Athletics.”

World Athletics owns 35.2 per cent of Diamond League AG.

In its newly-published 2019 annual report, the body said that in terms of “real reserves to safeguard the organisation”, its Executive Board had “agreed that the organisation should hold reserves of $25 million at all times.”World Athletics financials, World Athletics loses, World Athletics revenues, World Athletics Diamond League, World Athletics calendar 2020-21