Four-time Olympic middle distance medalist Seb Coe was voted new president of the IAAF, track and field’s international governing body, on Wednesday.
Coe, who was the head of the London 2012 Olympic Organizing Committee, beat Ukraine’s pole vault legend Sergey Bubka 115-92 after votes cast by IAAF member federations.
“The joys of being part of a team that created something very special in London a few years ago, but this, for me, is the pinnacle,” Coe said at a news conference in Beijing, site of the World Track and Field Championships starting this weekend (broadcast schedule here). “It is my sport, it’s my passion, it’s the thing that I’ve always wanted to do, to be in a position to help shape the future of my sport.”
Coe succeeds Senegal’s Lamine Diack, who is stepping down after nearly 16 years as IAAF president.
Coe’s term starts Aug. 31 and lasts four years.
Seb Coe wants cross-country running in Winter Olympics
Delighted and humbled by the confidence shown in me by the IAAF family - thank you, now the hard work begins
— Seb Coe (@sebcoe) August 19, 2015