The loss followed on from a profit of $30.2 million (£23.7 million/€27.8 million) in 2021, when it received just under $40 million (£31.4 million/€36.7 million) in dividends for Tokyo 2020 from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Chief operating officer Vineesh Kochhar explained the discrepancy by pointing to the quadrennial nature of IOC payments and the staging of four World Athletics Series events last year - the World Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat, World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, World Championships in Eugene and World Under-20 Championships in Cali.

Expenditure on competitions and events increased from around $23.5 million (£18.4 million/€21.6 million) in 2021 to $41.6 million (£32.6 million/€38.3 million) last year, and total expenditure from $52.6 million (£41.3 million/€48.4 million) to $72 million (£56.5 million/€66.3 million).

Kochhar insisted the figure for 2022 was four per cent lower than World Athletics had budgeted, and the report showed World Athletics can prioritise its spending on competitions and events.

Revenue declined from $82.8 million (£64.9 million/€76.1 million) in 2021 to $54.9 million (£43.1 million/€50.5 million) last year, but Kochhar said that excluding Olympic distributions this represented a 26.5 per cent increase in 2022.

Television rights and sponsorship income climbed from $38.2 million (£30 million/€35.2 million) to $48.7 million (£38.2 million/€44.8 million) in 2022.

World Athletics' reserves dropped from $53.6 million (£42.1 million/€49.3 million) to $46.1 million (£36.2 million/€42.4 million) from 2021 to 22, but Kochhar said this remained "very healthy" and "ensures we stay ahead of any issues we might have to face".

The World Athletics Congress is due to conclude tomorrow before the start of the World Championships in Budapest on Saturday (August 19).