Quotes by Sebastian Coe

“To anyone who has started out on a long campaign believing that the gold medal was destined for him, the feeling when, all of a sudden, the medal has gone somewhere else is quite indescribable.”

“We really want the Games, this is our third time trying.”

“The international people tell us that we are taken seriously and that there is a momentum.”

“We are delighted - a lot of hard work has paid off”

“The Cabinet was a very important staging post for us”

“All pressure is self-inflicted. Its what you make of it or how you let it rub off on you.”

“World records are only borrowed.”

“Its just the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport. This was the most splendid team performance,”

“We are taking home the biggest prize in sport.”

“Im not sure there are enough coaches in the system that can take young talent and consistently get them into the top five in the world.”

Inspirational leaders need to have a winning mentality in order to inspire respect. It is hard to trust in the leadership of someone who is half-hearted about their purpose, or only sporadic in focus or enthusiasm.

The London Games will be designed for the athletes and we will provide them with the very best venues and the very best conditions to pursue their sporting dreams in London.

Nobody ever becomes an expert parent. But I think good parenting is about consistency. Its about being there at big moments, but its also just the consistency of decision making. And its routine.

Since the break-up of the 1990s, Russia has not had winter sports facilities. All the winter sport venues were effectively located in countries that are no longer part of the federation. There is a strong argument for saying Sochis legacy will be this country will have winter sports facilities it did not have before.

I started track and field when I was 12 and didnt get to an Olympic Games until I was nearly 23. By any stretch of the imagination thats a very long apprenticeship.

It is really important that we promote competitive support in schools. It is very important that we recognise that has to be underpinned by good quality physical education and by getting people into patterns of exercise.

Vision is a romantic thing. We have got into talent identification. I am much more interested in passion - finding people who are really excited about doing something.

Our success in Singapore was a Herculean effort by the whole team. Now I am determined to deliver on all we promised. I will be watching like a hawk.