Let the guessing games begin: Coe pitches for top job amid murky Olympic politics
Let the guessing games begin: Coe pitches for top job amid murky Olympic politics
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No sooner had the crucial presentations for the biggest job in sport ended than the guessing games began. Sebastian Coe mixed flattery with oratory over the course of his 15-minute pitch for the job of International Olympic Committee president, before promising the IOC’s 110 members he would lead them into a glorious new era. But then came the caveat.
It came when Coe was asked how he believed he stood in a contest that some observers increasingly believe is a direct battle between him and the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. “I have no idea,” replied Coe, before telling the story of how his chief executive, Paul Deighton, had been puzzled by how London had only just won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, “because everybody I’ve spoken to said they voted for London.”.
“So probably hidden in that is the answer,” he added. In the murky world of IOC politics, Coe is right to be cautious. However he clearly believes his message of empowering IOC members and protecting women’s sport is giving him momentum in the contest to succeed Thomas Bach ahead of the election in March.
“The closer you get to the field of play, the more you know what the chances are of having a successful outcome,” said Coe. “And there’s still a lot to play for here. I’m not in bad shape. There’s definitely support there. There is also a greater appetite for change than I probably suspected. That’s been made very clear to me.”.
Coe also drew on the joy and success of London 2012 as he delivered his presentation to members. “Stand outside yourself as I did on that summer night in London and just look at what you are part of,” he told them. “In this room are people of extraordinary ability and experience and you are one of them.
