(Reuters) – 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.
(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Toby Davis)
