Inside the conclave Coe on final stretch in IOC ballot race

At a Greek resort with 131 infinity pools, the head of World Athletics is going for the biggest job in sport

- Sean Ingle

One question, more than any other, swirled around the exclusive Costa Navarino resort last night. Could Sebastian Coe really pull it out of the fire again? At the Moscow and Los Angeles Olympics he bounced back from defeat in the 800m to take 1500m gold. Then, against the odds in Singapore in 2005, he brought the 2012 Games to London ahead of Paris and Madrid.

And now, in the final hours before today's vote for the next International Olympic Committee president, he was busy pressing flesh and securing promises in the hope of a fourth Olympic win.

His supporters believe he can find a narrow path to victory.

He has form, after all. In 2005 London won after a maximum four rounds of incredibly tense voting, beating Paris by 54 votes to 50. Yet amid the rumours, smears, and intrigue here in Greece, others pointed to a different campaign as a cautionary tale: England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

The night before that vote, one British journalist said of the Russian bid "they've thrown in the towel!" when he heard that Vladimir Putin wasn't turning up. The next day proved a sharp and painful rejoinder. As things stand, most IOC watchers make Juan Antonio Samaranch the favourite.

But no one is counting out Kirsty Coventry, who is bidding to become the first woman to lead the IOC.

Or indeed Lord Coe. But the fact it is a secret ballot only adds more uncertainty and intrigue. On the surface, everything appears cordial.

The vote is being staged at the same five-star hotel where Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway are staying while filming a version of Homer's Odyssey.