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
although critical life mum people quickly quite recognise round running twice
My mum was critical in getting me to recognise very early on that although what I was doing was pretty serious, quite selfish, and probably to most people pretty obsessive, there actually was more to life than running quickly twice round a track.
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.
believe change compare games gold lives london olympic people quite thousands truly
Getting the Games for London has been the fulfilment of a dream. It is one which I truly believe can change the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people for the better. But in the end, nothing can quite compare with winning your first Olympic gold medal.
attracts fund given opera people shake
When the subsidies are going out there to fund arts, I'd like to see jazz given a better shake of the dice. It attracts as many people as opera does, but not the subsidies.
athletics background ended great inspired join loved olympic ordinary people saw secondary tv
I had a very ordinary background in Sheffield; I went to a secondary modern, but I saw something on TV in 1968 that inspired me to join an athletics club, and 12 years later, with great coaching and the support of people who loved me a lot, I ended up at an Olympic Games.
everybody good outlet people recognises sports
Everybody recognises that giving young people competitive outlet through sport is a very good thing.
biggest fragility inability people
The biggest fragility in a project is often just the inability to be able to explain to people why you are doing it, and when you're going to do it, and what's going to happen.
beyond found people relationship understand
Some people found it difficult to understand my relationship with my father, but that may have been because they couldn't get beyond their relationship with their own parents.
biggest change east ecstatic host lives living olympics people transform won
I was ecstatic when we won - to host the Olympics is one of the biggest opportunities in living memory. It will help change the lives of young people and transform east London.
across biggest eight helped landed line people prize reminding thousands throughout time uk weeks
I think it is an appropriate time to be reminding people that eight weeks ago we landed the biggest prize in sport and reminding the thousands of Londoners and people throughout the UK that helped us. We couldn't have got across the line without them.
momentum people seriously taken
The international people tell us that we are taken seriously and that there is a momentum.
school exercise people
It is really important that we promote competitive support in schools. It is very important that we recognise that has to be underpinned by good quality physical education and by getting people into patterns of exercise.