Lord Sebastian Coe life and biography

Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, often known as Seb Coe, is an English former athlete and politician. As a middle distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records in middle distance track events (and also participated in a world record relay). His rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.

Following his retirement from athletics he served as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992-97, and became a life peer in 2000. He was the head of the London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, and, after the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to London, became the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. In 2007, he was also elected a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations. On 25 August 2011, he was re-elected for another four year term.

Coe was born in Chiswick, London. His mother, Tina Angela Lal, died in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, in 2005, aged 75. She was half-Indian, born to Punjabi father Sardari Lal and English mother Vera Swan. His father, Peter Coe (born Percy N. Coe in Kingston-upon-Thames), died on 9 August 2008, aged 88, while Coe was in Beijing.

Chairman of the London 2012 bid and a member of the International Olympic Committee, Lord Coe is the man that will always be commended for leading the team which brought the Olympics to London.

Seb Coe is one of the greatest British athletes of all time. He set twelve world records at four distances and won four gold and three silver medals in European Championships and Olympic Games.

After retiring from competitive athletics, Seb entered politics as Conservative MP for Falmouth and Cambourne from 1992 to 1997. After serving as PPS to Michael Heseltine and as a Government Whip, his political career culminated in his appointment as Private Secretary to William Hague. He was appointed a life peer in 2000.

Lord Coe is global advisor to Nike and founder of the Seb Coe Health Clubs. He is an experienced speaker, broadcaster and columnist.

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