British middle-distance runner聽and two-time Olympic champion Sebastian Coe was elected president of the聽International Association of Athletics Federations聽(IAAF) on Wednesday in Beijing, .聽He had served as the vice president since 2007.聽
Coe takes on the position as track and field weathers a series of doping scandals, including doubts cast on Alberto Salazar, one of the sport鈥檚 most prominent coaches, and the release of athletes鈥櫬燽lood test data聽showing聽evidence of manipulation,聽which caused some observers to question the IAAF鈥檚 approach to聽doping. Coe campaigned on a platform of directing more resources to聽combat doping.
The election came just ahead of the world championships, which begin Saturday in Bejing.