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Lord Seb - future IOC member/pres?


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Interesting item I came across today speculating on Seb's future in the Olympic movement:

No Place for Coe at Top Table

LONDON: Sir Craig Reedie, an International Olympic Committee executive board member, believes Sebastian Coe would make an ideal IOC member. He said so last week when London celebrated one year to go to its Games.

“A remarkable combination of many different skills,” according to Reedie. Dennis Oswald, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2012 Games, agrees, saying he would welcome him.

Certainly, few can match his credentials, a double Olympic champion, successful businessman, politician, chair of a Games organising committee and a vice president of an international sports federation.

There is, it would appear, only one problem. Lord Coe will be a senior citizen claiming his pension before room becomes available on the IOC for him.

The rules introduced in 1999 allow only one member from each country, unless they are eligible in their capacity as a president of an international federation, NOC, or are elected for a defined period to the Athletes Commission as an active athlete.

Britain has four members currently. Two have their places for a specified period, Sir Philip Craven as president of the International Paralympic Council and Adam Pengilly who can serve until 2018 as an athletes’ commission member. Neither need be replaced by Britons.

Then there is Reedie himself, elected in 1994 and so eligible to remain until he is eighty. That exactly matches the year of Coe’s 65th birthday. And there is Princess Anne, eligible to remain until 2030 by when Coe will be beyond the eligible age. Both must go before any other Briton becomes eligible.

So no room at the top table for Lord Coe however well he organises next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, a situation which can only change if he was to be elected president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation. That cannot happen before 2015.

So a man extremely qualified will be denied further use to the Olympic movement once the Games are over next year. A nonsense, of course, but it was ever thus.

Few chairmen of successful Games organising committees are invited into the IOC to share their expertise. Peter Ueberroth, who transformed the Games’ prospects by chairing the 1984 Games to a near $250 million profit, was utterly ignored. Indeed, one year later the IOC elected instead an American later thrown out for using the role for personal profit.

Gerhard Heiberg, the Norwegian elected after organising a fabulously successful Winter Games in 1994, is a rare exception, and he has proved an invaluable addition to the IOC.

Perhaps as well as having 15-strong categories of membership for international federation presidents, NOC presidents and active athletes, the IOC should consider one for those from organising committees. It is a waste that such expertise is lost to the Olympic Movement.

SportsFeatures.com

A few comments.

I certainly agree that Seb is an obvious candidate for IOC membership. It would be almost a crime for him not to be made so. Indeed, I can even see him as a future IOC president after the expected Bach regime.

The article/blog above, though, does seem a tad pessimistic, though. It may well be right when it comes to official eligibility rules for the IOC, but I also thought that the president had the discretionary power to nominate IOC individual members from outside the strict quotas and usual ranks. Can anyone confirm if that's so?

Personally, I would be strongly surprised if Seb is not at least awarded the IOC's Gold Order at next year's closing ceremony and perhgaps even named as an IOC member designate at the same time.

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I certainly agree that Seb is an obvious candidate for IOC membership.
Is he corrupt? Self-important? Indiffernt to the negative consequences of the IOC demands on a host country??
Personally, I would be strongly surprised if Seb is not at least awarded the IOC's Gold Order at next year's closing ceremony and perhgaps even named as an IOC member designate at the same time.

Shouldn't we at least wait to see how the London games come off before awarding him Gold Orders?

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Is he corrupt? Self-important? Indiffernt to the negative consequences of the IOC demands on a host country??

No, IMO he's intelligent, diligent, respected, experienced, influential and connected within and without the Olympic movement and within and without the political fold. There's plenty of "white hats" in the IOC - and he'd a great addition to those ranks. So much so it's almost unthinkable he shouldn't be in those ranks.

Shouldn't we at least wait to see how the London games come off before awarding him Gold Orders?

Perhaps, but it's almost tradition that the OCOG chairman get some such award at the CC - and Seb has done such a sterling overseeing and directing probably one of the smoothest and best games preparations to date. It would be an enormous surprise NOT to see that happen now.

He sounds like he's done a great job for London thus far, but what makes him stand out from the chairs of organizing committees from Vancouver, Beijing, etc?

Profile, connections, experience and integrity - IMO. Between his experience with the Olympic movement, his time in Government and one of the few to come out of a stint with FIFA with his integrity intact, it's almost like he's been groomed for a future high profile IOC role.

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Profile, connections, experience and integrity - IMO. Between his experience with the Olympic movement, his time in Government and one of the few to come out of a stint with FIFA with his integrity intact, it's almost like he's ben groomed for a future high profile IC role.

I just read about him and his life. I'd agree he's a great candidate.

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Seb would make a fantastic IOC member. I think they should bend the rules for him to join the ranks. The IOC could use more people like him. I still think Ueberroth should have been made an IOC member. He still seemed to carry bitterness about it to his last days with the USOC. He certainly made some enemies in the IOC as the years ticked away from LA '84 though.

But at least he was recognized as Time's "Man of the Year"

UeberrothPeter03.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hmmmm. This could be an ideal way for Seb to side-step the quotas for IOC membership for all countries - heading up an IF - especially the IAAF - would be an almost instant qualification for IOC membership.

Gosper backs Coe for senior role with IAAF

Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper has backed London Olympics boss and former middle distance great Sebastian Coe to eventually take the reins of world athletics.

Coe is up for re-election as one of four vice-presidents of the International Amateur Athletics Federation at the IAAF congress in Daegu, South Korea, ahead of this weekend's world athletics championships.

Gosper believes it is important for athletics that Coe wins the first of the four vice-presidency ballots, placing him as the most senior of the deputies and the most likely successor to longtime IAAF President Lamine Diack of Senegal.

The six-man vice-presidential field includes former Ukrainian pole vaulting great Sergei Bubka.

Coe, twice a 1500m Olympic gold medallist, a life peer, former British MP and now head of London's 2012 Games, has "impeccable credentials" to eventually succeed Diack, says Gosper.

"He is part of the DNA of today's athletics," Gosper told AAP.

"As an athlete he was an inspirational role model for young people.

"He is committed to athletics and the importance of the Olympic movement.

"He is in charge of one of the most significant Olympic Games, he has a good grasp of commerciality and I see him as one of those people who are really going to move events forward.

"He is the full package," said Gosper, himself an Olympic medallist who is chief of the International Olympic Committee's Press Commission and has been an IOC member since 1977.

Diack, IAAF president since 1993, is unopposed at this week's elections.

Coe has been a vice-president since 2007 and his backers believe the top job would be the ideal post for him after the London Olympics.

NineMSN

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He seems to have a lot of support within the IOC, to become a member in the future - but obviously members need to be elected in some capacity. I believe the results of today's IAAF vice-presidents vote, puts Coe in pole position to be named senior vice-president, which is usually seen as a step towards the presidency. If that was to happen, he automatically would become an IOC member.

Sergey Bubka, Coe's nearest challenger, trailed Coe by 10 votes in his re-election bid. He also suffered humiliation by not being voted in at all, only for the results to be 'questioned', and a re-vote called.

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Very interesting thread. Thanks, Rols.

Coe would be such an obvious boon to the IOC. If there's enough internal will, I think they'll make a way.

As for Ueberroth, I don't blame him for being disappointed. He should've been an IOC member and it was wrong to snub him.

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Do any of you honestly think the IOC is going to want 5 British IOC members when there is so much disdain for the large number of Italians, Swiss and Russians?

Disdain from who? They themselves seem to have no problem with multiple Swiss, Italians and Russians. And I just go back to the original notion: Seb is just too valuable, too well known and too respected for them to lose.

And if he does succeed Diack, well it's just about impossible for him NOT to be welcomed automatically into the formal IOC ranks.

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Disdain from who? They themselves seem to have no problem with multiple Swiss, Italians and Russians. And I just go back to the original notion: Seb is just too valuable, too well known and too respected for them to lose.

And if he does succeed Diack, well it's just about impossible for him NOT to be welcomed automatically into the formal IOC ranks.

Well Rome losing 2004 has been directly linked to anger over the power of the Italians and CONI and there are many unhappy with the Russians (the Japanese especially). Do you think the Americans, French or Germans are happy to have to cow-tow to the Swiss, Russians and Italians? And the Brits? really, do you honestly think the majority of the IOC members would want another power broker when they are so close to getting rid of the excess Swiss and Italian baggage? Look no further then German anger over the Swiss actively lobbying against Munich.

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Do any of you honestly think the IOC is going to want 5 British IOC members when there is so much disdain for the large number of Italians, Swiss and Russians?

Considering that London is hosting in 2012 and the UK isn't likely to figure into the bidding for decades, I'd say that this would be the safest time to have 5 Brits in the IOC.

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  • 5 months later...

Whether it's likely or able to happen, Seb in the IOC is obviously a topic of speculation and something Rogge get's questioned on:

Exclusive: Coe must become IAAF President to be IOC member warns Rogge

February 13 - International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge (pictured left) has praised London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe (right) as a fantastic Organising Committee leader but admitted that it is beyond his capacity to make the double 1500 metres Olympic champion an IOC member.

Britain currently has four IOC members iwith Executive Board member Sir Craig Reedie, Athletes' Commission member Adam Pengilly, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven and the Princess Royal all currently serving.

The large British contingent means that Coe's most likely route into the organisation is to be elected President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) – a role that brings with it automatic IOC membership.

"The rules of the IOC to become a member are quite complicated," Rogge told insidethegames.

"For Sebastian Coe to become a member, he would need to become the President of the IAAF.

"That question though, is a bit hypothetical.

"I think that Sebastian Coe was a great athlete and that he is a great ambassador for sport.

"I also think that he is a fantastic President of the London 2012 Organising Committee.

"But what will happen in the future [with regard to Coe becoming an IOC member] is beyond my capacity."

Current IAAF President Lamine Diack (pictured right) is currently serving his last four-year term in the role and Coe, along with Ukraine's 1988 Olympic pole vault champion Sergey Bubka, are tipped as the two most likely candidates to replace the Senegalese when he steps down in 2015 as both are currently vice-presidents at the IAAF.

Should Coe become IAAF President in 2015, he would become an IOC member under a new President as Rogge will step down in the summer of 2013 when he completes his final term in the role.

Insidethegames

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  • 5 months later...

Sebastian Coe confirms he will run for IAAF president in 2015

LONDON — Sebastian Coe wants to become president of track and field’s governing body.

Coe tells the Times of London he will run for the top job of the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2015.

He says: “I’m ready. I know how to do this.”

Coe is head of London’s Olympic organizing committee and a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters.

He is already an IAAF vice president. IAAF President Lamine Diack’s term expires in three years.

Coe says “we have a great president in the post, so it would be when he stands down.”

Coe’s chief rival is expected to be Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka, who is also an IAAF vice president.

AP

http://www.washingto...uP8W_story.html

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Interesting to say the least. Most likely he would have to replace a current British IOC member. That doesn't look likely unless Pengilly resigns in 2014.

Wouldn't matter, Craig Reedie and the Princess Royal are the permentant members of the IOC for Britain. Pengilly is an AC member and Craven will only serve as long as he is IPC President. Any NOC is only allowed 2 permentant members of the IOC. So it would require Reedie or the Princess Royal to die/resign and Craven and Pengilly's terms to expire before the ExCo would appoint another member from Britain.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Olympic Order for Coe and LOCOG

IOC president Jacques Rogge presented Coe and his senior team of directors with the Olympic Order the Hilton Park Lane hotel this morning to mark their contribution to the Olympic Movement.

Coe told the press conference: “It ranks alongside what I did competitively.”

The LOCOG chief said hed had “probably the best job in the world for the last seven years” and his career in athletics had aided London’s preparations.

Asked if he had any plans to return to politics, the man who was a Conservative MP for some years quipped: “I enjoyed my time in politics… politics left me in a very big way in 1997.” That was the year he lost his seat in the House of Commons.

ATR

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Coe is going to be the 'legacy ambassador' which should keep him busy with sport in schools and arguing with Football Clubs and Boris Johnson for a couple of years, but as the Conservative-Libdem Coalition seems to be going to hell in a handcart, the government might fall before that, and what comes after may not want to keep him on.

I'd love to know what happened to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, my favourite organising committee honcho. With that ego, that big hair and those big feet it was like Heraklion meets Fort Worth.

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I think, given the success of London 2012, and his deep desire and love for his sport, he will become IAAF president when the current president retires.

WIth regards to the IOC, I think Coe could become a member of the executive board in due course, but I am unsure whether he could become its president. I see Thomas Bach of Germany taking over from Rogge next year. And he will likely retain that post for a decade or more. Ruling out a Seb Coe run.

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Gianna was great (even if she wasn't capable of moving many facial muscles).

I liked Coe immensely right up until the end of London's preparations. In my opinion, it's poor form for the leader of any organizing committee to speculate about medal prospects for anyone. Arguing China would top the table and the US would finish third behind Russia (even if it had happened) was the sort of comment that should've been made anonymously on these boards -- not publicly by the head of LOCOG. To me, that episode showed a lack of judgement and character.

His defense of the cauldron -- saying it wasn't for the fans and was not a tourist attraction was incredibly condescending and out of touch -- also a major turn-off.

Finally, saying Michael Phelps is not the greatest athlete ever is also totally inappropriate. He is entitled to his opinion of course, but someone in his position should handle himself more diplomatically. He should politely side-step the debate altogether (as he should have the question of medal predictions).

Those three episodes really diminished was was originally my very high view of Lord Coe. Obviously he's a great organizer, but he lacks the diplomacy necessary to be IOC president. It also appears he may harbor some latent anti-American sentiment -- not that that would disqualify him from the IOC, but it concerns me a bit personally..

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Alas, Lord Coe did let himself down with some of his remarks before and after, that is for sure.

In saying that, the man is capable and I do see him in the IOC within a few years - and I also see him in a senior position. But no, I do not see him ever being IOC president.

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I'd love to know what happened to Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, my favourite organising committee honcho.

I believe she returned to running their family (w/ her hubby) businesses...which with the post-2004 blues of Greece, also suffered with the downturn.

Finally, saying Michael Phelps is not the greatest athlete ever is also totally inappropriate.

What a dunderhead Coe is. I NEVER really liked him. For that idiotic remark alone, he SHOULD be disqualified from the IOC!! He is too Athletics-centered.

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