Seb Coe
The Diplomat
People, composure and the difficult conversation held well.
Seb Coe is a prominent figure in athletics and sports leadership, known for his role in securing the London 2012 Olympics. This interview highlights his diplomatic skills in managing relationships and fostering collaboration across diverse stakeholders in the sports world.
“Probably will get it. And he said, Well, who do you think it should be? I said, Well, if you're thinking long term, and I would go for something like William Hague. And I knew William a little bit. He was a Rotherham by Sheffield.”
“Autopsy there, and they responded in a very different way. They created the Institute of Sport in Canberra, and it took 10, 12 years before it started to pay off. But Australian sport really did. We sort of thought, well, just one last heave will do it, and a few athletes will come along. Mercifully, they did.”
“People started to recognize in the north of England that he was a great athlete. So we both came from very different sides and elements of the sport. We came from very different parts of the country as well. And that landscape and geography, I think, has a massive impact on who you are and how you think.”
“No, halfway down the back straight clear of the field and coasting, I suddenly felt, well, it was the contents of about half a pint of beer thrown at me with the immortal words, get a fucking move on. So the 5,000 meters in the Yorkshire Championships was my one and only. So to come back to your question, it's a good one.”
The Rest Is Politics: Leading — 53. Seb Coe: Corruption, gender, and the geopolitics of sport
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