Talking issues and curry with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe

Sebastian Coe, World Athletics (WA) president, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the 141st IOC session in Mumbai. (Photo: AFP)

Sebastian Coe is one of those annoyingly multi-faceted people with good hair and the title of ‘Lord’ to boot.

The 67-year-old Briton was a superstar athlete in the 1980s, winning four Olympic medals, two of them gold. He once set three world records in 41 days. Post-career, Coe had a stint in politics. Currently he is serving his third term as president of World Athletics (WA). Part of the global jet set, the kind who are in Monaco one day and Davos the next, he is tipped by many to become president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Coe’s rivalry with Steve Ovett and Steve Cram spiced up middle-distance running. Coe would understand the importance of spice. His mother was half Indian.

“It’s a rare week for me, even when I’m in Europe, to not have one, maybe even two, curries,” Coe told Moneycontrol during a chat at the ITC Maratha in Mumbai on Saturday. He was attending a celebration of the performance of Indian athletes at the recent Asian Games, Asian Championships and Budapest World Championships.

Also present at the event were Adille Sumariwalla, the Indian Athletics President and WA vice-president.

Of course, the main reason Coe and Sumariwalla were in Mumbai was the 141st session of the IOC.

India recorded their best ever showing at the Asian Games, winning 107 medals. Of those, 29 were in athletics (six gold, 14 silver, nine bronze). In Budapest, Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian to win a World Championships gold.

Coe called India among the most improved nations in athletics.

“India is one of the most improved federations, and your athletes one of the most improved in the last decade,” Coe said.

He welcomed Sumariwalla’s election as a WA vice-president, saying, “It is really important that India has a place at the top table [of world athletics]. And I say that not just because I’m sitting here in front of Indian media, but because it makes economic and athletic sense. This is a huge population. This is a population that is absorbed in sport.”

Serving his third and final four-year term as WA boss, Coe said he was going to be “ruthless and relentless” about focussing on what was working for athletics and what was not. It was crucial for the sport to appeal to the younger demographic, he said. Diversity and gender equality were key areas as well, and he expressed satisfaction that the WA Council has thirteen men and an equal number of women.

“[Our focus will be on] making sure we remain interesting and salient in the lives of young people,” Coe said. “Not every decision we make will be driven by the inclinations of teenagers, but we have to be guided by the way they absorb their information, their entertainment. Their lifestyles are very, very different from even five years ago. The world changes every three minutes, and our sport has to move with that.”

Diversity and inclusivity are natural extensions of this approach, and of great importance in the new world.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that the newly elected council is more diverse, more inclusive than it’s ever been,” said Coe. “We are the first council in world sport to be able to genuinely claim equal gender balance — 13 men, 13 women — and that I’m very proud about.”

Coe remained steadfast on the ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Asked what purpose was served by banning athletes, he said, “It’s about the integrity of the sport. You have a sovereign state that was invaded. Facilities were destroyed. One hundred and eighty five Ukrainian athletes so far have been killed in the defence of their country. It would have been impossible [for us] to still give opportunities to Russian and Belarussian athletes to compete.”

He is also clear there will be no chance of participation for transgender athletes in elite events, not even in a separate category.

“There will be no transgender athletes competing at the elite level. It is absolutely fundamental that we protect the female category,” he said.

The conversation shifts to India’s aspiration to host the 2036 Olympics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on Saturday that India would be bidding to host the Games. This comes just months after Victoria withdrew as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games over rising costs. There is a school of thought that major events are a huge environmental and infrastructural burden, especially for developing nations.

Coe, however, lies firmly on the side of big events. He criticised Victoria’s decision, and said that the advantages of hosting major events outweighed the negatives. He did concede, however, that events have to be mindful of budgets.

“I was disappointed in the way Victoria responded, and it was unhelpful that Canada echoed that,” Coe said. “But look, there are lessons here. Sports must remain conscious about the cost, about the impact on communities. [But] Our ability to explain why major events are not just attractive sporting occasions but can create lasting legacies is really important. And we don’t do that as well as we should.”

Finally, a question for nostalgia and sneaker buffs. Has Coe retained his Olympic kits and those old-skool track shoes? He seems happy at the change in subject, and replies with a smile, “They all are in the Nike museum in Portland.”