Coe named head of world athletics

Coe won 1500m Olympic gold in 1980 and repeated the feat in LA four years later

19 August 2015 Last updated at 08:19

Former Olympic 1500m champion Lord Coe has been elected president of athletics' governing body, the IAAF.

The sport's 214 federations cast their votes in Beijing to decide who should lead the sport, which is dealing with the fall-out from a series of doping allegations.

Coe, the former London 2012 chairman, succeeds Senegalese Lamine Diack, 82, who has been in charge for 16 years.

Coe polled 115 votes to Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergey Bubka's 92.

The election was held three days before the 2015 World Championships get under way in Beijing and Coe's initial term will be for four years.

Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe tweeted her congratulations to Lord Coe

The Olympic gold medallist in 1980 and 1984 praised the organisation for how the contest was conducted, saying it was "fought according to sound judgement throughout".

Coe and fellow Britons Steve Cram and Steve Ovett fought a famous rivalry during the 1980s in middle distance running, in what was seen as a golden age for the sport.

He said his IAAF presidential win was the "second biggest and [most] momentous occasion of my life" after the birth of his children.

"Delighted and humbled by the confidence shown in me by the IAAF family - thank you, now the hard work begins," he tweeted  shortly after the result.

Following his defeat, Bubka said: "I know that athletics in the future will grow, and become stronger and stronger."

The vote comes three days before the 2015 World Championships in Beijing

Both Coe, 58, and Bubka, 51, who won Olympic pole vault gold in 1988, were IAAF vice-presidents and had pledged to reform athletics in their manifestos.

They both said they wanted the sport to appeal to a wider audience and attract younger people.

However, the anti-doping agenda began to dominate the election following a series of harmful allegations.

Coe, who had been backed by double Olympic champion Mo Farah to "change athletics", promised the creation of an independent anti-doping panel to address the issue within his first 100 days in office. Bubka wanted a "very deep study" to look at introducing tougher sanctions for cheats.

Following Coe's election, World Anti-Doping Agency president Sir Craig Reedie, said: "We look forward to a positive and strong relationship with the new president in his avowed plans to protect the rights of the clean athlete."

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner told BBC Radio 5 live: "It's momentous for the sport . This felt like a cross roads for me. The challenges facing Athletics are such that we need a great president right now and I do believe Seb's got the range of skills and the character that's required too really pull us forward."

Career highlights of Lord Coe
During a stunning middle-distance running career, Sebastian Coe won 1,500m gold at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, also winning silver in the 800m at each. He also won a gold, two silvers and a bronze over three European Championships.
Coe broke numerous world records, including three in 41 days in 1979 to become the first to hold the best time for the 800m, mile and 1,500m at the same time.
In 1992, he was elected MP for Falmouth and Camborne for the Conservative Party, but lost his seat in 1997.
He first became an IAAF council member in 2003, becoming vice chairman in 2007.
In 2006, he was appointed first chairman of Fifa's independent watchdog, the ethics commission - a position he stood down from to join the English committee that failed to secure the 2018 World Cup.
As chairman of the organising committee, Coe played a pivotal role in London securing the 2012 Olympics and overseeing the Games themselves before becoming chairman of the British Olympic Association.
He was appointed an MBE in 1982, an OBE in 1990 and accepted a life peerage in 2000.

Cram, who won silver behind Coe in their famous 1500m race at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, also told 5 live: "It's a great result for the sport. He's the right guy to lead them forward.

"The sport is facing a fair few issues and Seb's got those leadership qualities and respect within the sport but respect outside of the sport as well.

"It's not going to be easy, some tough changes ahead but I think Seb's prepared to be tough himself to hopefully make those changes."

While USA Track and Field said in a statement: "We have been impressed with his vision for the sport, his dedication to its cause and his demonstrated effectiveness as a leader."

European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen added: "I would like to congratulate my friend Sebastian on being elected as the president of the IAAF - I am looking forward to working closely with him over the coming years for the good of our sport."

Earlier this month, The Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR alleged an "extraordinary extent of cheating" by athletes after they obtained blood test data from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012.

And the IAAF was accused of blocking a study which indicated a third of top athletes admitted cheating. The governing body later denied obstructing it.

Last year, the IAAF launched an investigation into claims that 99% of Russian athletes were doping .

Lord Coe has claimed the reports alleging widespread doping were a "declaration of war" on his sport.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted his congratulations

Martyn Rooney, Great Britain's team captain at the World Championships, was pleased with the vote result

British 800m runner Jenny Meadows tweeted Lord Coe

_{-- Delivered by Feed43 service}

Share This :