PARIS: World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Sunday he would give "serious thought” about throwing his hat into the ring to succeed Thomas Bach as head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Bach, who has led the Olympic movement since 2013, told a session of IOC members on Saturday that he will not seek to remain in charge for a third term. "New times are calling for new leaders,” the 70-year-old German lawyer said.
Coe, whose third and final term as athletics chief ends in 2027, has long been suggested as a successor to Bach. "I’ve always made it clear that if the opportunity arose, I will obviously give it serious thought,” Coe told reporters.
"The opportunity has arisen and clearly I need to think about that. "Of course I’m going to consider this.” While not immediately committing to a tilt, two-time Olympic 1500m gold medallist Coe, chairman of the 2012 London Games bid, then listed attributes that would make him a suitable candidate.
"I have been involved in the Olympic movement for the larger part of my life,” he said. "I’ve chaired an Olympic Games from bid through delivery, two years of legacy. After that, I’ve been privileged to compete in two Olympic Games.
"I chaired the National Olympic Committee and I now have the best job in the world, as president of the number one Olympic sport. "These are experiences that, if you put together with other aspects of my life, I think would be beneficial to the role.”
Coe is also a proven innovator, having taken over a World Athletics in dire straits after predecessor Lamine Diack was embroiled in a cover-up of Russian doping cases. Coe has earned credit for taking a hardline stance in banning Russian and Belarusian athletes in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Equally he attracted flak from some fellow federation presidents for taking the revolutionary step of paying Olympic track and field gold medallists $50,000 each in prize money.
Innovate and change
Coe, who was a British Conservative Party lawmaker from 1992-97, added that there were many other potential candidates within the Olympic movement "who have good qualifications for that role”. "We’re a diverse group of global people, international candidates who would fit that bill,” he said.
Ever the politician, Coe added: "I would encourage others to consider that within the movement because choice is important. I take that very seriously, and I think the membership needs to have a good range of quality qualified people to look at.”
Asked about what his vision for the IOC might be, Coe stressed that the incoming president would require a "laser-like focus on the need to innovate and to change”. "We know that the Olympic Games is fundamentally about sport. I’ve sensed in recent times that sport... in a way, has slipped down the agenda.
"I’ve heard a lot in the last year or so about solidarity, empowerment and sustainability, they’re health checks, and every good organization should have those at the heart, we do in World Athletics, and we’re not the only organization.
"They are absolutely the essentials of a good organization, but that’s not how we should be defining ourselves. "No. This is a sporting organization. "My view here, and not just in Paris, but in the last few years, is that sport is going to have to make sure that it is really punching its weight in this space, because at the moment, we have some challenges.” – AFP