Coe feels ‘momentum’ but IOC presidential race remains on knife-edge

Sebastian Coe feels he has momentum as the race to become the next president of the International Olympic Committee reaches its final hours. Most experts believe the seven-strong contest to be the next leader of global sport is on a knife-edge, with Coe one of the “big three” alongside the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, who is the favourite, and Kirsty Coventry, whowould be the first female president of the IOC.

However, Lord Coe struck an upbeat message after meeting many of the 98 voters who will decide his fate before the vote on Thursday afternoon. “I feel there is momentum,” he said. “I have enjoyed the campaign and the discussions I have had. I have listened a lot and I’ve heard about what members are concerned about and what they would like to change.

“I believe my manifesto strikes the right balance of building on the last 12 years and change with purpose and care. It’s an election and I’m enjoying the energy.”

The 41-year-old Coventry sounded optimistic when she was asked whether it was time for the first women president of the IOC. “Well, I’m biased, so I’m going to say yes,” she said.

She refused to be drawn on suggestions that the IOC president, Thomas Bach, had been lobbying for her behind the scenes, much to the consternation of some of the other candidates. Samaranch, whose father ran the IOC from 1982 to 2001, seemed confident as well. “I can promise you that I will be working until the very last second,” he said. “The journey has been an incredible experience for myself, a personal effort that I will always cherish. But now I want to win.”