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Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, CH, KBE, often referred to as Seb Coe or Lord Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including the 1500 metres gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984. He set eight outdoor and three indoor world records in middle-distance track events – including, in 1979, setting three world records in the space of 41 days – and the world record he set in the 800 metres in 1981 remained unbroken until 1997. Coe's rivalries with fellow Britons Steve Ovett and Steve Cram dominated middle-distance racing for much of the 1980s.
Following Coe's retirement from athletics, he was a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party from 1992 to 1997, and became a Life Peer on 16 May 2000. He headed the successful London bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics and became 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. On 25 August 2011, he was re-elected for another four-year term.
In 2012, Coe was appointed Pro-Chancellor at Loughborough University where he had been an undergraduate, and is also a member of the University’s governing body. In November 2012 he was also appointed chairman of the British Olympic Association. In 2012 he was of one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame. Coe was presented with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in December 2012.
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