Lord Sebastian Coe KBE

Lord Sebastian Coe is the UK’s most prolific world record setter and is arguably one of the greatest runners to compete for his country. He is also a British sports administrator former politician, and keynote speaker.

Born in London in 1956, Sebastian (known as Seb) began his athletics career aged 12, at Sheffield’s Hallamshire Harriers squad, where his father was his running coach. He made his first mark as a professional athlete in 1977, winning the 800m at the European Indoor Championships.

After setting a string of world records, Seb won his first Olympic medal in the 1980 Moscow games, taking the gold in the 1,500m. His second gold came in 1984 at the Los Angeles games, as well as two silvers.

His famous rivalry with fellow runner Steve Ovett dominated athletics through much of those years, and he quickly became the UK’s best-known and most cherished athlete – setting 12 middle-distance world records.

He was appointed and MBE in 1982, an OBE in 1990, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2006, and a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honours in 2013.

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Health & Wellbeing High Performance Keynote Leadership & Teamwork Motivational Olympians Politics Politics & Current Affairs Resilience Speaker Sport Virtual Speakers

More About Lord Sebastian Coe KBE

Lord Sebastian Coe is the founder and trustee of the Sebastian Coe Charitable Foundation. The aim of the foundation was to address the global epidemic of physical inactivity, and improve the physical wellbeing of the nation through sport, health, education, and science.

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Lord Sebastian Coe | Athletics Career

As well as his two gold and two silver Olympic medals won at the Moscow and LA Olympic Games, Sebastian also held a silver and gold in the World Cup, and a bronze, two silver, and one gold from the European Athletics Championships across the 800 and 1,500 metres. Even more impressively, is that in 1979, he set three world records in the space of just 41 days, with his record for the 800m remaining until 1997!

In his final year of professional athletics he won the AAA 1,500m title, and was ranked British number one in the 800m and 1,500m. After ill health saw him bow out of the 1990 Commonwealth Games, Seb’s professional athletics career came to an end.

A year after retiring, Seb took part in a race at Trinity College Cambridge, where competitors attempted to run round the perimeter of the Great Court, as featured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. The aim is to run the 401 yards in just 44 seconds; whilst initially Seb’s time was given as a winning time, it turned out he hadn’t reached the official finish line.

Lord Sebastian Coe | Politics

After retiring from athletics, Seb moved into politics, and was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Falmouth and Camborne in 1992, a seat he held for five years, when he became the Private Secretary to William Hague. He was appointed a life peer in 2000, becoming Lord Coe of Ranmore.

Lord Sebastian Coe | Corporate Work

With his sporting and political experience, Seb was asked to head London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He led London to victory, with many pointing out that his rousing speech at the 2005 vote in Singapore as the decisive moment.

Following the London games, he was elected Chairman of the British Olympic Association, a post he held until 2016. He was also the Executive Chairman of CSM Sport and Entertainment marketing agency; appointed Chancellor of Loughborough University in 2017; and was appointed the first chairman of FIFA’s independent watchdog The FIFA Ethics Committee.

In 2015 he was elected the President of World Athletics (formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations), where he oversees the global governing body for athletics, focussing on strategy, leadership, and promotion, as well as fairness, safety, and inclusivity.

He was part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Coordination Commission, elected a member of the International Olympic Committee, is Chair of the Diamond League AC, is a member of the Laureus World Sport Academy, and became a sports adviser to the GEMS School of Research and Innovation in 2025.

Lord Sebastian Coe | Awards and Accolades

Lord Sebastian Coe’s achievements in athletics has seem him become the recipient of a range of awards and accolades over the years, including:

– Voted Athlete of the Year by Athletics Weekly

– Voted Athlete of the Year by Track and Field News

– One of the 24 Athletes Inducted as Inaugural Members of the IAAF Hall of Fame

– BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1979

– Prince of Asturias Award 1987

– BBC Sports Personality of the Year Gold Award 2005

– Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012

– Awarded the Armory’s Presidents Award at the 2024 Millrose Games

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He has been awarded honorary doctorates from Loughborough University (1985), the University of East London (2009), the Royal Institute of British Architects (2009), and the University of Sunderland (2011).

Lord Sebastian Coe | Podcast

Sebastian hosts his own podcast, titled Extraordinary Tales With Seb Coe. On the podcast, Seb interviews a range of sport stars, covering triumphs, disappointments, and overcoming adversity, as well as confronting issues in the world of sport today. Guests have included rugby players Bill Beaumont and Sam Warburton, cricketers Nat Sciver-Brunt and Matthew Vandrau, tennis stars Billie Jean King and Judy Murray, and Olympians and Paralympians such as Ade Adepitan and Dame Kelly Holmes.

Lord Sebastian Coe | Speaking

Sebastian Coe is now a highly sought-after speaker, who has appeared at events including the EBU Sports Assembly, the European Athletics Convention, the IRB World Rugby Conference and Exhibition, and the IAAF/LOC Press Conference.

He provides audiences with first-hand stories of teamwork, leadership, resilience, sport, the Olympics, change, innovation, challenging the status quo, pursuing excellence, handling uncertainty, and risk management.