British Sebastian Coe named IAAF 6th president

Coe, in his time as a middle distance runner won four Olympic medals, including two gold. He also headed London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

The IAAF confirmed Coe a former vice-president as their sixth president at the 50th IAAF Congress in Beijing, China on Wednesday 19th August, 2015, beating former Ukrainian Olympic pole vaulter Sergey Bubka.

Coe speaking on his appointment said;

I am deeply honoured that our sport has placed its trust in me. There is no job I want to do more — nor with greater commitment,”

Coe’s appointment comes at a stormy time for the world athletics governing body, as it combats numerous doping allegations, as earlier this month, Britain’s Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD revealed they had access to a leaked database containing more than 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes from 2001 to 2012.

Something the IAAF openly denied, describing it as a smear campaign to destroy its reputation.

“If transparency is an issue, we would welcome any investigation from the only authorized body to investigate — the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA),” the IAAF’s anti-doping manager, Thomas Capdevielle, told CNN.

Meanwhile, Coe called the reports “sensationalizing” and an attempt to “destroy the reputation of the athletes and our sport.” He told the Associated Press that it was a “declaration of war.”

(Article from CNN contributed to this report) All rights reserved.