Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, KBE (born 29 September 1956), often known as Seb Coe,[1] is an English former athlete and politician. As a middle distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records in middle distance track events (and also participated in a world record relay). His rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.[2]
Following his retirement from athletics he served as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992–97, and became a life peer in 2000. He was the head of the London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and, after the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to London, became the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. In 2007, he was also elected a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations. On 25 August 2011, he was re-elected for another four year term.[3]
Coe was born in Chiswick, London. His mother, Tina Angela Lal, died in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, in 2005, aged 75. She was half-Indian, born to Punjabi father Sardari Lal and English mother Vera Swan.[4] His father, Peter Coe (born Percy N. Coe in Kingston-upon-Thames), died on 9 August 2008, aged 88, while Coe was in Beijing.[5]
Coe was brought up in Sheffield attending Tapton[6] and Abbeydale Grange schools. He joined athletics team Hallamshire Harriers at the age of 12, and quickly became a middle-distance specialist. He is probably better remembered as representing Loughborough University and later Haringey when not competing for his country.[7]
He was coached by his father who designed workouts specifically for his son. Coe studied economics and social history at Loughborough University and won his first major race in 1977—an 800-metre event at the European indoor championships in San Sebastián, Spain. It was at Loughborough University that he met athletics coach George Gandy who had developed "revolutionary" conditioning exercise to improve Coe's running.[8]
Sebastian Coe (#254) was the silver medalist in Men's 800m at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
He first ran against his great rival Steve Ovett in a schools cross country race in 1972.[9] Neither won, nor did either win in their first major encounter in the European Championships Prague in 1978 in an 800 metre race, where Ovett (breaking Coe's UK record with a run of 1:44.09) was second and Coe finished third behind the East German Olaf Beyer. According to Pat Butcher,[10] Coe's father and coach Peter Coe had encouraged him to run as fast as he could from the start. The early pace was indeed exceptionally fast: Coe ran 200 metres in 24.3 seconds, 400 metres in 49.32 seconds and 600 metres in 1:16.2: then he slowed down and finished third in 1:44.76.
A few weeks later Coe was to reclaim the UK record, setting an all-comers' mark of 1:43.97 at Crystal Palace to rank him second in the world that year. In October 1978, Coe displayed impressive endurance for an 800m runner by winning a four-mile road-race in Ireland in 17:54, defeating Eamonn Coghlan (1983 World 5000m champion) and Mike McLeod (1984 Olympic 10000m silver medalist), and breaking Brendan Foster's course record of 18:05.
The next year, 1979, Coe set three world records in 41 days. He set his first world records in Oslo, Norway in the 800-metre (1:42.33) and the mile (3:48.95) and later broke the world 1500 metre record (3:32.03) in Zurich, Switzerland, becoming the first person to hold all three records at the same time.[9] He easily won the 800m at the European Cup in Turin in August, covering the last 200m in 24.1 and anchored the British 4 x 400m relay team with the fastest split of the quartet, 45.5. He remained undefeated at all distances that year, was voted "athlete of the year" by Athletics Weekly and Track and Field News and was ranked number one in the world at 800m and 1500m: no other athlete since has ranked number one at these distances in the same year.
In 1980 Coe broke Rick Wohlhuter's world record for 1,000-metres with a time of 2:13.40 and held all four middle distance world records simultaneously, the 800m, 1000m, 1500m and the mile, for one hour until Ovett broke his mile record, another unique feat. In the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Ovett and Coe won each other's speciality; Ovett the 800 metres, and Coe the 1500 metres (Coe came in second in the 800 after running what he described as "the worst tactical race of my life", while Ovett took third in the 1500).[9] It was Ovett's first defeat at either one mile or 1500 metres in three years and 45 races, and Coe covered the last 400 m in 52.2 and the last 100 m in 12.1 seconds, the fastest ever finish at this distance.[11][12]
1981 started off in February with an indoor world record over 800 m at Cosford, time 1:46.0. His world record in the 800 metre race in Florence on June 10: his 1:41.73 in the 800 metres remained unbeaten until August 1997. As of 2010, this still stands as the UK record and makes him the third fastest man ever. A month afterwards he set another record with 2:12.18 for 1000 m, which was to last 19 years and to this day has only been bettered once. Coe was more than 1.7 seconds (about 14 m in distance) faster than anyone on record at both distances. Between these two record breaking runs he won the Europa Cup 800 m semi-final, running the last 100 m in 11.3 (the fastest ever recorded in a major international race), and achieved a personal best of 3:31.95 in the 1500 metres, despite dreadful pace making in the initial stages. In August he won the gold medal at the European Cup final, before going on to better the standard for the mile twice; first with a 3:48.53 in Zürich and then with a 3:47.33 in Brussels, either side of Ovett's world record in Koblenz (3:48.40). He ended a remarkable season with gold over 800m at the World Cup in Rome in September, and remained undefeated in both the 1500 metres/mile and the 800 metres for the entire season, as in 1979. Track & Field News and Athletics Weekly magazines voted Coe Athlete of the Year, an honour he had also won in 1979.
Although he had a short season in 1982 due to injuries in June and July, he still managed to rank number one in the world in the 800 metres and participate in a world record 4 x 800 metres relay in which Coe, Peter Elliott, Garry Cook and Steve Cram's time of 7:03.89, was to remain the world record for 24 years. Coe's leg was the fastest of the day, a solo 1:44.01. However he unexpectedly won only silver in the 800 m in the 1982 European Championships in Athletics in Athens. It transpired the next day by British team doctors, that he had been suffering from glandular fever. Coe decided to withdraw from the 1500 metres in those European Championships (Pat Butcher, The Perfect Distance).
1983 started with world indoor records in the 800 metres in Cosford, England (1:44.91, breaking his own 1981 1:46.0) and the 1,000 metres (2:18.58) in Oslo, Norway, but Coe spent most of the year battling health problems including a prolonged bout with toxoplasmosis.[9] He missed the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Athletics.[13] The disease was severe and he spent several months in and out of hospital on strong medication.
Coe returned to competition in spring 1984 and was selected for 800 and 1500 metres at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, despite being narrowly beaten by Peter Elliott in the AAA Championships. In the 800 metres he took silver behind Joaquim Cruz of Brazil, but in the 1500 metres he took gold with an Olympic record of 3:32.53. His last 800 m was run in 1:49.8, his last lap 53.2 and his last 100 m in 12.7. He remains the only person to win successive Olympic 1500 metre titles.
"On the day there was only one man and on the day Seb Coe was that man".
—Steve Cram, 1984
Coe planned to have a somewhat quiet season in 1985, due in part to the intensity of the previous year's efforts to get himself ready in time for the Olympics, as well as a planned move up to 5000m, which never materialised. He suffered a recurrence of a back problem which had plagued him on and off since 1980, causing him to miss several weeks of training mid season. Despite this he managed to set some fast times towards the end of the season, but was to lose his Mile world record to Cram, who beat him in Oslo.
In 1986 Coe won the gold medal over 800 m at the European Championships in Stuttgart, beating Tom McKean and Cram.[14] with a stunning last 200 m of 24.7. It was his only 800 m title at an international championship. He won the silver in the 1500 metres, behind Cram, after running a bad tactical race, and set a personal best over 1500 m with a 3:29.77 min performance in Rieti, Italy, becoming the fourth man in history to break 3:30 for the 1500 m. For the fourth year in his career ('79, '81, '82, '86), Coe ranked number one in the world in the 800 metres and was in the top two for 1500 metres for the 5th time.
He was injured in May 1987[clarification needed] after winning an 800m for his club, Haringey, and was out for the entire season.
The following year he wasn't selected for the British 1988 Olympic Games team, when he failed to qualify from the heats of the 1500m at the Trials in Birmingham. He had shown good early season form, but after a spell of altitude training he picked up a chest infection. The Daily Mirror ran a campaign and the president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, unsuccessfully tried to have the rules changed in Coe's favour. It was said that the Indian team was willing to include him on account of his mother's parentage.[15]
Coe had one more good season in 1989, when, at the age of 33 and past his absolute best, he still won the 1500 m AAA title, was ranked number 1 Britain over both 800 m and 1500 m, ran the second fastest 800 m of the year (1:43.38) and won the silver medal at the World Cup over 1500 m. He retired from competitive athletics in early 1990, after having to bow out at the Auckland Commonwealth Games with yet another chest infection. He ended his career with eight different seasons of sub 1:44 800 metre times.
One scene in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire recreates a race in which the runners attempt to round the perimeter of the Great Court at Trinity College, Cambridge in the time it takes the clock to double strike the hour at midday or midnight. Many have tried to run the 367 metres (401 yards) around the court in the 43.6 seconds that it takes to strike 12 o'clock. Known as the Great Court Run, students traditionally attempt to complete the circuit on the evening of the Matriculation Dinner. The only person recognized to have actually completed the run in time is Lord Burghley in 1927. It was thought that Sebastian Coe had succeeded when he beat Steve Cram in a charity race in October 1988, in a time of 42.53 seconds. But a video of the race apparently shows Coe was 12 metres short of the finish line when the last chime sounded which is why Trinity College never officially accepted his time.
Coe became Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne in 1992, for the Conservative Party,[2] but lost his seat in the 1997 general election. He returned to politics for a short time as William Hague's chief of staff, having taken a life peerage in 2000.[16] During this time he tried his hand at a marathon, running a time of 2 hours and 58 minutes.
When London announced its bid to hold the 2012 Olympics, Coe became an ambassador for the effort and a member of the board of the bid company. With the May 2004 resignation of chairman Barbara Cassani, Coe became the chairman for the latter phase of the bid. As Coe was a well-known personality in Olympic sport, it was felt he was better suited to the political schmoozing needed to secure the IOC's backing. Coe's presentation at the critical IOC meeting in July 2005 was viewed by commentators as being particularly effective, and the bid won the IOC's blessing on 6 July.[17]
Coe has often said that London 2012 is not only about five weeks of summer sport but about encouraging more people to take up sport at all levels of competition. Coe is the Patron of the British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA).[18]
In September 2008 Coe controversially told reporters "Fuck 'em" when asked about the opposition to the creation of a footballing Team GB from Scottish and Welsh supporters as reported in The London Paper, 30 September 2008, page 5 "Coe: Yes to 2012 GB footy team – The Scots and Welsh? Fuck 'em".[19]
Coe was appointed the first chairman of FIFA's independent watchdog, FIFA's ethics commission. The commission will judge all cases alleging conflicts of interest and breaches of Fifa rules.[20]
FIFA president Sepp Blatter made the announcement in Zurich on 15 September 2006 and said: "It is perhaps a surprise but it has been very well received. We have found an outstanding personality in the world of sport, a great personality in the Olympic movement." His appointment makes him one of the most senior Englishmen to work for FIFA.[21]
He stood down from this post to join the English committee that failed to bring the 2018 World Cup to England (it went to Russia).[22][23]
Coe married Nicky McIrvine, a former Badminton three-day-event champion, in Surrey, in 1990, with whom he has two sons and two daughters.[24] The marriage ended in divorce in 2002 after twelve years and Coe moved out of the family home.[citation needed]
In 2003, Coe began a relationship with Carole Annett (a daughter of the cricketer M. J. K. Smith), the commercial retail editor for House & Garden magazine. In 2004, she left her husband after 15 years of marriage and children and moved in with Coe at his home in Tilford, Surrey. The couple married in summer 2011.[25]
He is a worldwide ambassador for Nike and owns a string of health clubs with a membership of 20,000. Coe is a knowledgeable follower of a wide range of sports, including football (he is a season ticket holder at Chelsea Football Club) and boxing (he was a steward for the British Boxing Board of Control). He is a multimillionaire[citation needed] and a member of the East India Club, a private Gentlemen's Club in London. He has supported London athletic events like the London 10K of Nike and the British 10K charity race.
On 12 February 2010, Coe was the 19th runner on the 106th day of the Vancouver Olympic Torch Relay. Coe's leg was along the Stanley Park Seawall, and he exchanged a "torch kiss" with the previous runner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the next runner, a 19 year old member of the Squamish community.[26] He featured in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (British TV series) and is descended from Caribbean sugar farmers and slave owners, and a Governor General of New York (Hyde House) and Edward Hyde of Norbury.[27]
Coe was awarded with the first Prince of Asturias Award in sports category in 1987.
Coe was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1990.
He was created a life peer in 2000 as Baron Coe, of Ranmore in the County of Surrey.
In December 2005, Coe was given a Special award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony.
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year's Honours List for services to sport.[17]
In November 2009 Coe was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of East London.[28]
| Distance |
Mark |
Date |
| 400 m |
46.87 |
1979 & 45.5 relay leg (1979) |
| 800 m |
1:41.73 |
1981 |
| 1000 m |
2:12.18 |
1981 |
| 1500 m |
3:29.77 |
1986 |
| Mile |
3:47.33 |
1981 |
| 2000 m |
4:58.84 |
1982 |
| 3000 m |
7:54.32 |
1986 |
| 5000 m |
14:06.2 |
1980 |
- Coe was featured in the Brass Eye spoof documentary on paedophilia.[29]
- He was a model for menswear retailer Horne Bros.
- Appeared as himself in the episode 'Not a Good Day' from the 4th series (season) of the British sitcom "The Brittas Empire"
- Mr Sebastian Coe MBE (1982–1990)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE (1990–1992)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE MP (1992–1997)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE (1997–2000)
- The Lord Coe OBE (2000–2006)
- The Lord Coe KBE (2006–)
- ^ The Big Interview: Seb Coe. The Times. July 2008. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ a b "Sebastian Coe". BBC News. 9 August 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics2000/bbc_team/859595.stm. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ iaaf.org – International Association of Athletics Federations. Daegu2011.iaaf.org (2011-08-24). Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ Johnson, Angella (13 December 2009). "Lord Coe and his grandfather, the Punjabi Playboy: The racy ancestry of one of Britain's greatest runners". Daily Mail (London). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1235341/Lord-Coe-Punjabi-Playboy.html.
- ^ Hubbard, Alan (10 August 2008). "Peter Coe, coach and father of Sebastian, dies at 88". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/peter-coe-coach-and-father-of-sebastian-dies-at-88-889752.html. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ My School Sport: Sebastian Coe. Daily Telegraph. 20 February 2007. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ Sebastian Coe OBE. made-in-sheffield.com
- ^ George Gandy’s Tips on Running. Motleyhealth.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ a b c d Simon Burnton (18 April 2012). "50 stunning Olympic moments No23: Coe v Ovett, Moscow 1980". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/apr/18/50-olympic-moments-coe-ovett-moscow-1980.
- ^ Pat Butcher, The Perfect Distance – Ovett & Coe: The Record-Breaking Rivalry, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004
- ^ The image, at Sports Illustrated. Vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ "Sebastian Coe: You Ask The Questions". The Independent (London). 11 August 2004. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article51171.ece. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Asthana, Anushka (26 June 2005). "Olympics bid Coes finest race". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article537461.ece. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "Frozen in time: 28 August 1986". The Guardian (London). 30 July 2006. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1830815,00.html. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Bose, Mihir (2008-08-20). "Coe's London legacy challenge". bbc.co.uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/mihirbose/2008/08/when_london_stages_the_games.html. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ Cole Morton (23 July 2000). "How judo made a man out of Hague". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/how-judo-made-a-man-out-of-hague-707222.html. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ a b Orlovac, Mark (31 December 2005). "Profile: Lord Coe". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4656275.stm. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ BDA Patron's Reception with Sebastian Coe. Dragonboat.org.uk (2007-02-19). Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
- ^ "Coe: Yes to 2012 GB footy team The Scots and Welsh? F*** ’em". thelondonpaper. 2008-09-30. http://thelondonepaper.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ^ "Fifa and Coe". BBC News. 29 October 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/7056420.stm. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Ziegler, Martyn (16 September 2006). "Coe accepts new Fifa role as ethics watchdog". The Independent (London). http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/news/article1603884.ece. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ "The London 2012 Organising Committee Board". British Parliament. 2008. p. 1. http://www.parliament.uk/deposits/depositedpapers/2009/DEP2009-0995.pdf.
- ^ "England miss out to Russia in 2018 World Cup Vote". BBC News. 2 December 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9250585.stm.
- ^ Toolis, Kevin (18 February 2001). "Sebastian Coe: the running mate". www.guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/feb/18/conservatives.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
- ^ "Olympic chief Lord Coe weds long-time girlfriend in low-key secret ceremony". Daily Mail (London). 27 August 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030933/Olympic-chief-Lord-Coe-weds-long-time-girlfriend-low-key-secret-ceremony.html#ixzz1WKSRUi79.
- ^ "How Vancouver almost lost the 2010 Olympics". Toronto Star. 2010-02-12. http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/764519--how-vancouver-almost-lost-the-2010-olympics. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ Singh, Anita (20 August 2011). "Sebastian Coe’s roots go back to sugar cane baron who kept 300 slaves". www.telegraph.co.uk (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8711531/Sebastian-Coes-roots-go-back-to-sugar-cane-baron-who-kept-300-slaves.html. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
- ^ "University of East London honours Olympic stars Coe, Ohuruogu and Hunter". Podium. 8 November 2009. http://www.podium.ac.uk/news/view/266/university-of-east-london-honours-olympic-stars-coe-ohuruogu-and-hunter. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Press Releases – Newcastle University – Why Brass Eye got it right. Ncl.ac.uk (2001-08-02). Retrieved on 2011-12-06.
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| Name |
Coe, Sebastian |
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British athlete and politician |
| Date of birth |
29 September 1956 |
| Place of birth |
Chiswick, London, UK |
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