August Bebel
German social democrat politician (1840-1913)
Sebastian Coe, a British sports administrator, former politician, and retired track and field athlete, is renowned for his impressive Olympic and world record achievements in middle-distance running. He has also been involved in major sports administration roles, including leading the successful London 2012 Olympic bid and serving as president of the IAAF.
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About the Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, 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.
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. In August 2015, he was elected president of the IAAF.
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. 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.
At the 2024 Millrose Games, Coe was awarded The Armory’s Presidents Award.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sebastian Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medals at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games.
Sebastian Coe set nine outdoor and three indoor world records in middle-distance track events, including setting three world records in the space of 41 days in 1979.
After retiring from athletics, Sebastian Coe was a Conservative member of parliament from 1992 to 1997, and was later made a Life Peer in 2000.
Sebastian Coe headed the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, became chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, and was elected president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2015.
Sebastian Coe was appointed Pro-Chancellor and later Chancellor of Loughborough University, and was inducted as an inaugural member of the IAAF Hall of Fame. He was also presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2012.
9 Quotes by Sebastian Coe
- 1.
I’m not sure there are enough coaches in the system that can take young talent and consistently get them into the top five in the world.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 2.
All pressure is self-inflicted. It’s what you make of it or how you let it rub off on you.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 3.
To anyone who has started out on a long campaign believing that the gold medal was destined for him, the feeling when, all of a sudden, the medal has gone somewhere else is quite indescribable.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 4.
The London Games will be designed for the athletes and we will provide them with the very best venues and the very best conditions to pursue their sporting dreams in London.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 5.
Our success in Singapore was a Herculean effort by the whole team. Now I am determined to deliver on all we promised. I will be watching like a hawk.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 6.
World records are only borrowed.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 7.
There may be problems we still need to tease out, but we will leave no stone unturned in our bid to make London the host city.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 8.
Quite simply the Games are the biggest opportunity sport in this country has ever had. It is one that we must not squander.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician
- 9.
We need to be confident. We need not to blink.
Sebastian CoeBritish athlete and politician