Kemo
08-20-2015, 01:52 AM
Sebastian Coe was elected as the new head of international athletics on Wednesday and promised to stand by his campaign pledge to set up an independent anti-doping body for the embattled sport.
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been battered by allegations over the last three weeks of widespread doping in track and field.
While the 58-year-old Briton said an independent body was the only way to ensure an end to any question about the IAAF's vigilance, he also said he was inheriting a "very strong sport" from Senegalese Lamine Diack.
A twice Olympic 1,500 meters champion, and head of the organizers for the 2012 London Olympics, Coe won the presidency by beating Ukraine's Sergey Bubka 115-92 in a ballot of the IAAF's 50th Congress.
He starts his new job on Aug. 31, the day after the world championships end in Beijing.
"I've had the joys of Olympic competition, I've had the joys of being part of something special in London a few years ago, but this for me is the pinnacle," he said.
"It is my sport, it's my passion, it's the thing that I've always wanted to do.
"I will do everything within my human capabilities to make sure our sport maintains the values, maintains the strong legacies and the very, very firm foundations that President Diack has left me," he added.
"This is a sport that is strong, I have the responsibility to make it stronger, and I will."
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has been battered by allegations over the last three weeks of widespread doping in track and field.
While the 58-year-old Briton said an independent body was the only way to ensure an end to any question about the IAAF's vigilance, he also said he was inheriting a "very strong sport" from Senegalese Lamine Diack.
A twice Olympic 1,500 meters champion, and head of the organizers for the 2012 London Olympics, Coe won the presidency by beating Ukraine's Sergey Bubka 115-92 in a ballot of the IAAF's 50th Congress.
He starts his new job on Aug. 31, the day after the world championships end in Beijing.
"I've had the joys of Olympic competition, I've had the joys of being part of something special in London a few years ago, but this for me is the pinnacle," he said.
"It is my sport, it's my passion, it's the thing that I've always wanted to do.
"I will do everything within my human capabilities to make sure our sport maintains the values, maintains the strong legacies and the very, very firm foundations that President Diack has left me," he added.
"This is a sport that is strong, I have the responsibility to make it stronger, and I will."