Sebastian Coe to Run for IAAF Presidency

Sebastian Coe has announced that he will seek the presidency of the International Association of Athletics Federations, the world governing body for track and field. Coe, an Olympic legend and former head of the London Organizing Committee for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games, is currently a vice-president of the IAAF. He is also chairman of the British Olympic Association.

Coe is expected to be challenged for the role by another Olympic legend, Ukraine’s Sergei Bubka.

“As I speak to friends and colleagues around our great sport, I appreciate that we are entering a very important time for athletics and that it is the right time to open up a discussion about the future,” Coe said in a statement. “That discussion needs to focus on how we build on the many achievements of recent years, recognize that we have new challenges in a new era and how we can tackle those challenges with vision and ambition.”

Coe won the gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Summer Games and the silver medal in the 800 meters in 1980 and 1984 as well.

Lamine Diack, who has been IAAF president since 1999, has announced he will not seek another term. The new president is expected to be chosen at the IAAF Congress in August in Beijing.