Coe new IAAF president

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) elected Sebastian Coe as its new president in a vote on Wednesday. The two-time British Olympic champion collected 115 votes from 207 voting member federations. His challenger, Sergei Bubka from Ukraine, received 92.

Coe takes over from Lamine Diack, who is stepping down after 16 years at the head of the IAAF. The election took place at the IAAF Congress in Beijing, which coincides with the athletics world championships starting on August 22. Coe will officially begin his duties on August 31 following the world championships.

As a middle distance runner, Coe won gold in the 1,500 meters at the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He took silver in the 800m in both years as well. Since retiring from athletics, Coe has enjoyed a successful career as a sporting administrator. He served as the head of the London 2012 Olympic organizing committee and was also part of the committee that campaigning to bring the World Cup to England in 2018. This bid failed as FIFA awarded that World Cup to Russia.

Coe campaigned extensively for the presidency of the IAAF, reportedly criss-crossing the globe to win support from member federations. On his campaign website, a video in support of his candidacy featured endorsements from long-distance running legend Haile Gebrselassie, heptathlon Olympic champion and 2012 Olympic poster-child Jess Ennis-Hill, and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

His election comes as serious questions are raised about the IAAF's fight against doping in athletics. With access to 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012, Germany's ARD broadcaster and Britain's The Sunday Times said there was a surprising prevalence of abnormal tests. Abnormalities do not necessarily indicate doping has occurred.

The IAAF stated that there was no proof of doping in the reports – merely allegations – and Coe called the report a "declaration of war" on athletics. In his campaign manifesto, Coe called for a "move towards an external, fully independent anti-doping agency to deal with doping violations in international level athletics," which would see the IAAF break with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Bubka was in favor of continuing to work with WADA to fight doping in athletics.

Bubka, who won gold in the pole vault at the 1988 Olympic in Seoul, was re-elected to his position as an IAAF vice president in a subsequent vote at the congress. Unlike Bubka, Coe did not simultaneously pursue a vice-presidential spot in the event he lost the presidency.

mz/jil (AP, AFP)