Muscat: He is the man who pioneered middle distance running in the 80s and took it to the next level and Sebastian Coe, behind all the administrative hats that he has wonderfully adorned over the years, remains the quintessential athlete.
The British legend who fired up the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with his 1500M golds reminisced when asked about these two highlights of his illustrious career.
“When you set off in your athletics career, you start in a small way by joining a club, which I did. I joined a junior team. It is important that you always have an ambition. My record in the World Championships prior to the Olympics was not good one. The first and second I was injured. I look more favourably at the Olympics. It was an outstanding Olympics, organised very well. I was delighted with both Olympics 1500m golds. It was the highlight of my career. Some of the world records that I broke were the highlights of my career.”
Coe competed in the Athletics World Cup in 1981 and 1989 and finished first and second respectively. At the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 he won Gold in the 1500m and Silver in the 800m a feat which he repeated in Los Angeles in 1984. In all Lord Coe set 12 world records during his athletics career. He retired from competitive athletics in 1990.
Lord Coe is the former Chairman of the British Olympic Association and was Chairman of The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Game Limited having previously been Chairman of London 2012 Limited, the London 2012 bid company.
From 2010 to 2019, he chaired the Sport Honours Committee, and from the autumn of 2012 to 2014 he served within the Cabinet Office as Legacy Ambassador for the London 2012 Games.
Lord Coe has been president of World Athletics (formally International Association of Athletics Federations) since 2015 after serving as a vice-president since 2007 and was elected to become a member of the International Olympic Committee in July 2020.
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