But Coe said in an end-of-year call with reporters that the teenager must be handled carefully.
“He is clearly talented, but there is a bit of realism here as well,” the Briton said.
“He is 16, 17, he is an outstanding talent. But I think anybody that you speak to in the upper echelons of Australian coaching and certainly here at World Athletics will tell you that the biggest challenge in coaching is taking a really talented 17 to 18-year-old into the upper echelons of the senior teams.”
Coe added: “We have to be realistic about this ... the vast majority of people who win world junior titles don’t go on to compete for their national team at senior level.
“This is a rare and precious talent that will need nurturing and protecting.”
- Agence France-Presse
