Former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe elected as IAAF president

Former athlete and British politian Sebastian Coe, who led the organising committee of London's 2012 Games, has been appointed as the president of world governing body for athletics.

The former Olympic 1500m champion, who defeated former Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, will serve IAAF for an initial term of four years, the BBC reported.

Praising the organisation for the manner in which the contest was conducted, Coe said that it was fought according to sound judgement throughout.

Expressing his delight, Coe said that after the birth of his children, this was the second biggest and most momentous occasion of his life.

Ahead of the world championships in Beijing and against a backdrop of doping allegations that have brought down the image of the sport, he would now be tasked with restoring the reputation of the sport.