On the Scene - Coe Elected BOA Chair

(ATR) Sebastian Coe says it's a "monumental responsibility" to be the leader of the British Olympic Association.

The London 2012 chair stood unopposed Wednesday and was elected unanimously as the new chair by the 43 members of the BOA. He will serve a four-year term following Colin Moynihan’s decision in August to step down.

Coe paid particular thanks to his predecessor Moynihan, who sat next to him, and also to the role of the BOA in his career.

"I am very flattered to be entrusted the chairmanship of this organization. Bringing teams together every two years and giving them the service levels and support they need in their career – it is a monumental responsibility," he said.

"I thought long and hard on whether I would put my name forward, but actually if you have come through a sport and in an era where the NOC has played such a seismic role in your life, then for me it was a very obvious thing to be very involved with, particularly in this year of all years."

Coe will work with the BOA and its partners in gearing up for Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016, where the expectation will be high for a team that has performed exceedingly well in the past two Olympics. "I will sit down with the teams here and figure out what exactly we need to do," Coe added, saying the job would be "entirely my focus".

The question of the organization’s finances came up – the BOA recently had its overdraft extended – but Moynihan was confident that the BOA would come out with a profit.

"As far as this year's accounts are concerned, I have comfort that the surplus distribution will be paid, that LOCOG will not be making a loss ... should that be the case, I’m saying the accounts should close at a profit this year," he said.

Messages of support for the incoming chair came from IOC president Jacques Rogge, who said in a statement: "I congratulate the BOA for picking a winner. We all know about Seb’s sporting excellence and now thanks to the London Games we all know what a great leader he was of a hugely successful Games."

Prime Minister David Cameron was also quoted as saying "There can be no better choice for BOA chairman" while UK Sport chair Sue Campbell said she was "absolutely delighted" about the decision.

Coe insisted that his focus was on his work with the BOA and that he was not thinking about the IAAF presidency in 2015 at this time, an office with which he has been heavily linked.

Reported in London by Christian Radnedge

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