Track and field faces ‘declaration of war — Coe to AP

Coe received 115 votes in the poll, 23 more than rival candidate and Ukrainian pole vault great Sergei Bubka, who later retained his position as an IAAF vice-president.

Sebastian Coe was elected as the new head of worldwide athletics on Wednesday and promised to stand by his campaign pledge to set up an independent anti-doping body for the embattled sport.

“For most of us in this room, we would conclude that the birth of our children is a big moment in our lives, probably the biggest, ” London-born Coe, 58, told the congress.

The worldwide Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has faced a string of accusations over the last three weeks that it neglected its duty to address the issue after the leak of blood test data to two media organizations.

The global governing body of athletics is to abandon its policy of drug-testing every athlete during the upcoming world championships in Beijing, the Guardian has learned, with only a third of competitors slated to have their blood taken and scrutinised.

He won the 1,500 metres gold medal at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, and played a key role in helping to popularise the sport in Britain.

“I am delighted to be president of the number one sport and I will do everything in my human capability to make sure my sport retains its values and firm foundations”. It’s my sport, my passion.

He said: “There is a zero tolerance to the abuse of doping in my sport and I will maintain that to the very highest level of vigilance”.

A Swedish delegate used the congress Wednesday as a platform to criticize the lack of transparency of the bidding process, saying it seriously eroded the country’s confidence in the system and that it still hadn’t heard an official explanation directly from the IAAF president.

“I know that athletics in the future will grow, and become stronger and stronger”, Bubka added.

Mr Coe has previously said that under his leadership the sport would move towards setting up its own anti-doping agency.

Like Coe, he was an Olympic gold medallist – winning the 400m hurdles at Amsterdam 1928, organiser of the Olympic Games in London, in 1948, and chairman of the British Olympic Association.

The IAAF called the allegations “sensationalist and confusing” and also put down claims that it tried to block the publication of a document that showed extensive doping among athletes.

Diack, in his outgoing speech, again rounded on the medias portrayal of doping in athletics. Thats absolutely not true, ” he said.

The 58-year-old’s elevation from vice-president, a post he has held since 2007, comes at a crucial time for the organisation, with allegations of mass doping and cover-ups threatening to ruin the already fragile reputation of the sport.

“Opinions are swayed in this way”.