He proudly maintains that athletics is the number one sport in the Olympic movement, even though the distribution of Olympic revenues to global federations has seen swimming and gymnastics join track and field at the top tier.
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While the 58-year-old Briton said an independent body was the only way to ensure an end to any question about the IAAF’s vigilance, he also said he was inheriting a “very strong sport” from Senegalese Lamine Diack. When something has touched a Coe nerve over the years, be it the Olympic Stadium debacle or the empty seats shown on the television on the first day of London 2012, it is usually – but not always – because there is more than a little truth to it. “There is no job I want to do more – nor with greater commitment”.
“Lord Coe’s strong anti-doping stance and continued efforts to ensure a clean and level playing field for all athletes are wholeheartedly supported by Australian athletics”.
The election took place amid a public relations crisis for the IAAF, which was accused of failing in its duty to address the scourge of doping.
A former Conservative politician in Britain, Coe has aggressively defended the IAAF’s record on doping since the leak of blood test data to the media.
Although the battle against doping has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, Coe has outlined a raft of other challenges he says the sport of athletics needs to confront.
“That’s something I will very happily defend”.
Coe said he needed to discuss with his council the process for having a fully independent anti-doping tribunal established before releasing any details. There is a universal problem for that in sport. “We recognize that and we’ve been in the lead role as long as I’ve been in the sport”, he said.
“How I combine that is something that I’ve always managed”. “That means we have the highest leadership of IAAF as our allies”.
“I will continue to serve athletics as I’ve done during all my life in any position our Athletics family trusts me to hold”.
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The men’s 1,500 metres finals at the Moscow and Los Angeles Olympics provided between them seven of the most thrilling minutes in the history of athletics.
