Sebastian Coe has always loved a challenge, both on and off the athletics track, and it is a trait which will prove useful in his new role as president of world athletics. The Englishman first came to prominence as a champion middle-distance runner in the 1970s and 1980s, winning four Olympic medals, including two gold, as well as setting a dozen world records. A graceful runner with a fierce determination to succeed, there was no taking it easy for Coe when he retired from athletics in 1990. Instead, he set himself new goals, entering politics, business, and embracing sports administration. Now, the 58-year-old faces a new challenge - running the sport in which he made his name - after his election on Wednesday as head of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Coe will replace Senegal's Lamine Diack, whose 16-year reign as IAAF chief ends on Aug. 30, the last day of the world championships in Beijing. The Briton's only rival for the position had been Ukrainian Sergey Bubka, and Coe beat the former Olympic and world champion pole vaulter by 115 votes to 92. Coe's elevation to the top job in athletics has been decades in the making. He won the 1,500 metres gold medal at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, and played a key role in helping to popularise the sport in Britain. His races with his countrymen Steve Cram and Steve Ovett developed into one of the great rivalries in track and field, becoming compulsory viewing for fans of the sport. Ovett beat Coe to win gold in the 800m at the 1980 Moscow Olympics while Cram was runner-up to Coe in the 1500m at Los Angeles four years later. When he retired from competitive running in 1990, his legacy as one of the greatest middle-distance runners was assured, but that was just the start of a new and longer road. LONDON OLYMPIC CHIEF In 1992, he entered the British parliament as a member of the Conservative Party but lost his seat in the 1997 general election. Coe was instrumental in helping London win the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and was later put in charge of the organising committee, giving him access to some of sport's most influential powerbrokers. In 2006, he became the first chairman of the ethics commission for FIFA, soccer's world governing body. A year later, he rose to vice-president of the IAAF, a position he has held ever since, following a successful re-election in 2011. Coe announced his decision to run for the presidency in 2014 and left nothing to chance in his bid to win the vote, travelling all over the world to lobby support. But his ascent to the top coincides with a testing time for athletics, and he has the added challenge of restoring public confidence in the sport following allegations of widespread doping in track and field, which date back over a decade. In the lead-up to the election, Coe described the allegations as a "declaration of war" on the sport and promised to set up an independent panel to investigate the claims. In his manifesto, he also pledged to grow athletics around the world by empowering national federations, maximising commercial opportunities and reshaping the sport's calendar. His election victory was widely welcomed. Bubka, gracious in defeat, pledged his support to Coe, while athletes, other sports administrators and politicians congratulated him. Coe, aware of the looming hurdles he faces, took it all in his stride, saying "now the hard work begins". (For moresports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/138260.aspx
