Sebastian Coe

**Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe** <small>CH KBE</small> (born 29 September 1956, and often nicknamed **Seb Coe**) is a former athlete and politician from the United Kingdom. A middle distance runner, Coe won the 1500 m gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records. He is widely considered to be amongst the greatest middle distance runners of all time. Following his retirement from athletics, he served as a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992-97. He became a life peer in 2000. He is the head of the London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. After the International Olympic Committee awarded the games to London, he 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.

## Personal life

Coe was born in Hammersmith, London. He grew up in Warwickshire and Sheffield. His mother, Tina Angela Coe, died in Hammersmith and Fulham, London, in 2005, aged 75. His mother was half Indian, born to a Punjabi father Sardari Lal and an English mother Vera. His father, Peter Coe (born Percy N. Coe in Kingston upon Thames), died on 9 August 2008, aged 88, while Coe was in Beijing.

Coe married Nicky McIrvine, a former Badminton three-day-event champion, in Surrey, in 1990. They have two sons and two daughters, all of whom were born in Surrey:

- The Hon. Madeline Rose Coe (8 July 1992–)
- The Hon. Harry Sebastian Newbold Coe (29 September 1994–)
- The Hon. Peter Henry Christopher Coe (31 May 1996–)
- The Hon. Alice India Violet Coe (25 September 1998–)

The marriage ended in divorce in 2002 after twelve years and Coe moved out of the family home. Coe married Carole Annett in summer 2011.

On 12 February 2010, Coe was the 19th runner on the 106th day of the Vancouver Olympic Torch Relay. Coe's leg was along the Stanley Park Seawall, and he exchanged a "torch kiss" with the previous runner, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the next runner, a 19 year old member of the Squamish community.

## Awards

He was awarded with the first Prince of Asturias Award in sports category in 1987.

Coe was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1990. He was created a life peer in 2000 as **Baron Coe**, of Ranmore in the County of Surrey.

In December 2005, Coe was given a Special award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards ceremony. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year's Honours List for services to sport.

## Personal bests

|Distance||Mark||Date|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_400 m_|46.87|1979 & 45.5 relay leg (1979)|||
|_800 m_|1:41.73|1981|||
|_1000 m_|2:12.18|1981|||
|_1500 m_|3:29.77|1986|||
|_Mile_|3:47.33|1981|||
|_2000 m_|4:58.84|1982|||
|_3000 m_|7:54.32|1979|||
|_5000 m_|14:06.2|1980|||

## Styles and honours

- Mr Sebastian Coe (1956–1982)
- Mr Sebastian Coe MBE (1982–1990)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE (1990–1992)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE MP (1992–1997)
- Mr Sebastian Coe OBE (1997–2000)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Coe OBE (2000–2006)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Coe KBE (2006–)

## Related pages

- Steve Ovett
- Steve Cram
- Olympic Games
- Middle distance track event

## Other websites

- Sebastian Coe's foreword to 'Running the Race', biography of Olympic champion Eric Liddell
- Sebastian Coe's entries on the official blog of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
- Sebastian Coe Profile: Made In Sheffield
- Guardian profile of Sebastian Coe
- Article by Sebastian Coe about his amazing rise to fame in 1979, The Daily Telegraph, 11 August 2009, Accessed 11 August 2009.
- Sebastian Coe has revamped London's bid for the 2012 Olympics
- Sebastian Coe promises Olympics to remember
- Sebastian Coe greatest race: the 2012 Olympics
- Why London won the games: The Sebastian Coe factor
- Coe Pays Tribute To Lord Stratford
- Students interview Sebastian Coe
- Sebastian Coe's Biography

## Infobox (politician)

- **honorific-prefix**: The Right Honourable
- **name**: The Lord Coe
- **honorific-suffix**: CH Order of the British Empire, KBE
- **image**: Seb Coe 01.jpg
- **imagesize**: 170px
- **birth place**: Hammersmith, London, England
- **nationality**: British
- **party**: Conservative Party (UK), Conservative
- **children**: 2 sons, 2 daughters
- **alma mater**: Loughborough University
- **occupation**: peerage, Peer and retired Athlete (track and field), athlete