Coe makes bid to become British Olympic chairman

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe revealed on Monday that he will stand to be the next chairman of the British Olympic Association. Lord Coe was approached by the BOA committee as they search for a successor to Colin Moynihan and he confirmed he is ready to go for the post after masterminding London’s bid for the Olympics and helping to deliver a hugely successful Games. Coe’s stock is sky-high at the moment after the triumphant Olympics and Paralympics and he will be the firm favourite to succeed Moynihan who is stepping down next month. Any expressions of interest from potential rivals must be in by September 24 but senior figures within the BOA believe Coe, a 1,500m gold medallist in 1980 and 1984, would almost certainly be unopposed. Coe, who was London 2012’s bid chairman and then organising committee chairman, said he had been asked to stand by the BOA sub-committee appointed to find candidates to succeed Moynihan. Speaking after the parade of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in London, Coe said: “I have been asked and I’m happy for my name to go forward. I was asked formally and on this day of all days why wouldn’t you want to help. “I wouldn’t presume anything but I was asked, I thought about it, and I have always had a huge debt of gratitude to the British Olympic Association. “They fought to allow me to go to Moscow, and actually everything I have done in the last few years might not have been possible had I not had that Olympic experience,” he added.