UK Athletics president Lynn Davies believes that the Twitter altercation between Mo Farah and Andy Vernon adds "spice and rivalry" to the sport.
The two British distance runners exchanged a number of tweets after Vernon questioned the lack of competition at the Indoor Grand Prix, but Davies was pleased that the row attracted plenty of attention in the media.
Davies is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "It adds spice and rivalry and we need personalities who are larger than life, not just great athletes but people who can engage with the public.
"People talk about personalities and suddenly, we've got two top-class athletes who are having a go at each other.
"We're overshadowed by so many other sports now that we need to put our heads above the horizon and say, 'Athletics is alive and kicking and we've got personalities here'."
Davies was speaking at the launch of the 2016 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships in Cardiff.
