Sebastian Coe

The Lord Coe
Coe during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2012
President of World Athletics
Assumed office
19 August 2015
Preceded byLamine Diack
Chairman of the British Olympic Association
In office
7 November 2012 – 24 November 2016
PresidentThe Princess Royal
Preceded byThe Lord Moynihan
Succeeded bySir Hugh Robertson
Chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
In office
24 August 2008 – 12 August 2012
IOC PresidentJacques Rogge
Preceded byLiu Qi
Succeeded byCarlos Arthur Nuzman
Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
In office
7 October 2005 – 30 May 2013
Chair of the London bid: 18 May 2004 – 7 October 2005
Preceded byBarbara Cassani
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition
In office
19 June 1997 – 13 September 2001
LeaderWilliam Hague
Preceded byJonathan Powell
Succeeded byJenny Ungless
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a life peer
16 May 2000 – 31 January 2022
Member of Parliament
for Falmouth and Camborne
In office
9 April 1992 – 8 April 1997
Preceded byDavid Mudd
Succeeded byCandy Atherton
Personal details
Born
Sebastian Newbold Coe

(1956-09-29) 29 September 1956 (age 68)
Hammersmith, London, England
Political partyConservative
Spouses
Nicky McIrvine
(m. 1990; div. 2002)
Carole Annett
(m. 2011)
Children4
Parent
Alma materLoughborough University
Sports career
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1]
Weight119 lb (54 kg)[1]
SportAthletics/Track, Mid-distance running
Event(s)800 metres, 1500 metres, Mile
TeamHallamshire Harriers, Sheffield
Haringey AC, London
Sports achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 1980 Moscow 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1984 Los Angeles 800 m
European Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place 1986 Stuttgart 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1982 Athens 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1986 Stuttgart 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 1978 Prague 800 m
Representing  Europe
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1981 Rome 800 m
Silver medal – second place 1989 Barcelona 1500 m

Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, CH, KBE, Hon FRIBA (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe,[3][4] is a British sports administrator, former politician and retired track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. He set nine outdoor and three indoor world records in middle-distance track events – including, in 1979, setting three world records in the space of 41 days – and the world record he set in the 800 metres in 1981 remained unbroken until 1997. Coe's rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.[5]

Following Coe's retirement from athletics, he was a Conservative member of parliament from 1992 to 1997 for Falmouth and Camborne in Cornwall, and became a Life Peer on 16 May 2000.

Coe headed the successful London 2012 Olympic bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics and became chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. In 2007, he was elected a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and re-elected for another four-year term in 2011.[6] In August 2015, he was elected president of the IAAF.[7]

In 2012, Coe was appointed Pro-Chancellor of Loughborough University where he had been an undergraduate. Subsequently, in 2017, he was appointed as Chancellor. He is also a member of Loughborough University's governing body. He was one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the IAAF Hall of Fame.[8] In November 2012, he was appointed chairman of the British Olympic Association. Coe was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December 2012.[9]

At the 2024 Millrose Games, Coe was awarded The Armory's Presidents Award.[10]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Seb Coe". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Sebastian Coe". Desert Island Discs. 13 December 2009. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  3. ^ "The Big Interview: Seb Coe". The Times. July 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  4. ^ Leith, Sam (6 August 2012). "Jonathan Miller and the state/private divide". Evening Standard.
  5. ^ "Sebastian Coe". BBC Sport. 9 August 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
  6. ^ "IAAF Congress Day 1 – Daegu 2011: ELECTION RESULTS, 24 Aug – update!". International Association of Athletics Federations. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  7. ^ Gibson, Owen (19 August 2015). "Sebastian Coe elected as president of world governing body for athletics". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "Hall of Fame Members". International Association of Athletics Federations. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Lord Coe receives BBC Lifetime Achievement award". BBC Sport. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  10. ^ 2024 Millrose Games Booklet