World Athletics President Sebastian Coe was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday, ending the sport's five-year absence from the Olympic body.
Coe, a double Olympic 1500 metres champion, was elected during an IOC session. He was nominated last month pending proof he had stepped down from an active role in a consultancy firm.
The athletics body has not had any representation within the IOC since the departure of Coe’s predecessor Lamine Diack in 2015 amid a corruption scandal and subsequent trial.
For decades, membership of the IOC for the head of athletics was almost automatic.
The IOC, however, had denied membership to Coe, a federation vice-president under Diack and British sporting great, saying there was a potential conflict of interest with his consultancy post.
Five new IOC Members elected by the 136th #IOCSession:
➡️ Mrs Maria de la Caridad Colón Ruenes
➡️ Mrs Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović @KolindaGK
➡️ Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud @rbalsaud
➡️ Mr Battushig Batbold @battushb
➡️ Lord Sebastian Coe @sebcoe
— Christian Klaue (@ChKlaue) July 17, 2020