Sebastian Coe is a politician and former track and field athlete from the United Kingdom. During his career as an athlete, he was known as Seb Coe or Lord Coe and was the proud winner of four Olympic medals, including the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. Coe has always enjoyed jogging and has done so since he was a child. At the age of 12, he joined the athletics team Hallamshire Harriers, where he was first coached by his father. He quickly established himself as a middle-distance specialist, and his performance in the 800 meters at the European Indoor Championships in San Sebastian in 1977 drew widespread attention. Despite missing out on the world indoor record, he was pushed to international prominence following the competition. He established a heated rivalry with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram during his running career, which drew media attention for much of the 1980s. After retiring from sports, he entered politics and was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative Party member. He was also a member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) council and eventually became vice president of the organization. He led London’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, and after the bid was successful, he became chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games.
Childhood and Adolescence
Sebastian Coe was born in London, England, on September 29, 1956, as the oldest of four children to engineering Peter Coe and actress Angela Coe. Sebastian’s father was an athlete and a cyclist who pushed him to participate in sports from a young age.
Bridgetown Primary School and Hugh Clopton Secondary School in Stratford-upon-Avon were his primary schools. He attended Tapton Secondary Modern School and Abbeydale Grange School in Sheffield after his family relocated there.
From a young age, he had a liking for running, which his father encouraged him to pursue. He joined the athletics team Hallamshire Harriers at the age of 12 and quickly rose through the ranks to become a middle-distance specialist. Despite his lack of coaching experience, his father took it upon himself to instruct his gifted son.
Sebastian Coe studied Economics and Social History at Loughborough University after graduating from high school. At the university, he was trained by athletics coach George Gandy and competed as a runner for his school. Coe’s running was substantially improved because of Gandy’s training methods.
The Career of Sebastian
Sebastian Coe rose to international prominence after competing in the 800 meters at the European Indoor Championships in San Sebastian in March 1977. He won the race in 1:46.54, just missing the world indoor record by a fraction of a second.
Throughout 1977, he was in excellent form, setting his first UK national record outdoors in the 800m at the Coca-Cola Games in Crystal Palace, when he defeated Andy Carter.
In 1979, he established three world records in 41 days, in the 800 meters (1:42.33), mile (3:48.95), and 1500 meters (3:32.03) in Oslo, Norway. He later broke the world 1500 meters record (3:32.03) in Zurich, Switzerland. He was the first individual to simultaneously hold all three records. At the end of the year, ‘Athletics Weekly’ and ‘Track and Field News named him “athlete of the year.”
He competed in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow alongside his arch-rival Ovett, winning the 1500 meters and finishing second in the 800 meters to Ovett. Coe ran the final 400 meters of the 1500-meter race in 52.2 seconds and the final 100 meters in 12.1 seconds, the fastest time ever for this distance.
1981 was a particularly exciting year for him. He broke world records in the 800 and 1,000 meters, as well as breaking Ovett’s mile mark with a time of 3:48.53 seconds. Ovett, on the other hand, went on to set another mile record, which Coe destroyed with a time of 3 minutes 47.33 seconds.
Sebastian Coe was chosen to race in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles in the 800 and 1500 meters. In the 1500 meters, he won gold with an Olympic record of 3:32.53, and in the 800 meters, he earned silver, losing first place to Joaquim Cruz of Brazil. He was the first and only person to win consecutive Olympic 1500-meter crowns, and he still holds the record.
Photo Credit: Athletics weekly
In May 1987, he had an injury that forced him to miss the full season. He was unable to make the British Olympic team for the 1988 Games. He retired from competitive athletics in early 1990 after one final strong season in 1989.
After retiring as an athlete, he entered politics and was elected Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne for the Conservative Party in 1992, a position he maintained until the 1997 general election when he lost his seat.
In 2003, he was elected to the International Association of Athletic Federations’ (IAAF) council, and the following year, he was chosen the leader of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympics. He became the chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games when the bid was successful and London was granted the Games in 2005. Coe was named Chairman of the British Olympic Association after the London Olympics.
Achievements & Awards
Sebastian Coe has created a Life Peer as Baron Coe, of Ranmore in the County of Surrey, in 2000. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1982, an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1990, and a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1982.
In 1985, he received an Honorary Doctor of Technology (Hon DTech) from his alma mater, Loughborough University, and in 2009, he received an Honorary Doctor of Science (Hon DSc) from the University of East London.
In the 2013 New Year Honours, Coe was named to the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for his contributions to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Personal History and Legacy
In 1990, Sebastian Coe married Nicky McIrvine, a former three-day tournament champion in badminton. Before divorcing in 2002, the couple had four children.
Carole Annett was his first love, and he married her in 2011.
Estimated Net worth
Sebastian Coe is one of the wealthiest politicians and one of the most well-known. Sebastian Coe’s net worth is estimated to be $50 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.