Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, CH KBE FRIBA, often referred to as Seb Coe or Lord Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Lord Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. He set eight outdoor and three indoor world records in middle-distance track events – including, in 1979, setting three world records in the space of 41 days – and...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth29 September 1956
dad good huge hugely influence mother structure time
I have always been very good at being able to structure my time. My mother had a huge influence on me. My dad was my coach. He was a hugely influential figure.
crave people profession shared shave trying
The characteristic shared by people at the top of their profession is that, to get better, they crave criticism. Most people don't like criticism, but if you are trying to shave two tenths of a second at 800 metres, that is what you crave.
kids people sports
I know many people who are actually queasy about the idea that their kids may harbour sporting ambitions.
believe dignity genuinely good life lose metaphor people sensibly sports teach
I do genuinely believe that young people who play sport at a competitive level, sensibly controlled, sensibly organised, that has to be a good thing. It will teach them to win, it will teach them to lose with dignity and magnanimity - all the things you want. It's a pretty good metaphor for life.
bit everybody focusing impatient massively
I can be a bit impatient sometimes. If I'm really focusing on something, I can expect everybody to move at the same pace, and that's probably not massively endearing.
helped integral life school sports understanding
Sport was an integral part of school life. The most influential teachers were not necessarily the PE teachers, but the teachers who helped me in sport because they had an understanding of what you were going through.
athletics great load
The great thing about athletics is that it's like poker sometimes: you know what's in your hand, and it may be a load of rubbish, but you've got to keep up the front.
chelsea judgment manchester seen supported united
I'm a Chelsea season-ticket holder, and I've supported them for 37 years, so any judgment of Manchester United by me is seen as biased.
third time
We really want the Games, this is our third time trying.
across line
We couldn't have got across the line without them.
allow arrived centre early efforts essential final focus further good london material message opportunity refreshed singapore visual
Like the other bidding cities, we will be our making final efforts to communicate the essential message of the London bid. We arrived here early to allow us to focus on finalizing our presentation. This has been a good opportunity to finalize the scripts, to take a further look at our visual material and to arrive in the centre of Singapore refreshed and better able to focus on the conversations we need to have.
longer miles
I still run every other day. Longer at weekends. I probably do 35 miles a week.
countries domestic few foreign recognise somebody
We have to recognise there are very few countries you will take the Games to where somebody doesn't have issues on foreign or domestic policy.
brought east family india living man mix odd
I'm such an odd mix of things. My grandfather was Indian: I've got more family living in India than I do in the U.K. My old man was East London. I was brought up in Yorkshire. My great-grandfather was Irish.