Coe waiting on his IOC presidency fate

SEBASTIAN Coe will discover today whether his plans to reform the International Olympic Committee have convinced its members to vote him in as the organisation’s next president.

- JAMIE GARDNER

Coe, a double Olympic gold medallist and currently the boss of World Athletics, says he has been “training for the best part of his life” for the IOC's top job.

He has faced tough races in his off-track career before, not least in helping London secure the 2012 Olympic Games in the face of stiff competition from Paris and Madrid, but today’s vote at the IOC Session in Greece is arguably the most challenging yet, where he will be up against six other candidates.

Juan Antonio Samaranch - whose late father of the same name held the IOC presidency from 1980 to 2001 - has been identified by some observers as the man to beat, while Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe is said to be current president Thomas Bach’s preferred choice.

A victory for Coventry would make her the first woman, and the first African, to hold the IOC's highest position.