Seb competed in the Athletics World Cup in 1981 and 1989 and finished 1st and 2nd respectively. At the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980 he won Gold in the 1500m and Silver in the 800m a feat which he repeated in Los Angeles in 1984.
He retired from competitive athletics in 1990 and was a Member of Parliament for Falmouth & Camborne from 1992 to 1997. He has also chaired the Sports Council’s Olympic Review. He has written five books, which include Born to Run (co-written by David Miller), Comeback (co-written by David Miller), Running for Fitness (co-written by Peter Coe), The Olympians and More Than a Game, and he is an experienced broadcaster and public speaker. Other recreational pastimes include listening to jazz and visiting the theatre.
Seb’s awards and qualifications are listed below:
1979 BSc Economics, Loughborough University
1979 BBC Sports Personality of the Year
1979, 80, 81 & 84 Sports Writer’s Sportsman of the Year
1981-92 Chairman, Athletes Commission, International Olympic Committee
1982 Kipphurth Fellowship, Yale University
1983-90 Appointed to Sports Council
1986-89 Vice Chairman to Sports Council
1987-93 Medical Commission, International Olympic Committee
1991 Awarded OBE
1994-to date Regular Contributor, BBC Radio 5 Sport
1994-96 Parliamentary Private Secretary to Roger Freeman, MP, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1995 Parliamentary Private Secretary to Nicholas Soames, MP, Minister for the Armed Forces
1996 Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Heseltine, MP, Deputy Prime Minister
1997 Appointed Government Whip
1997-to date Sport for All Commission, International Olympic Committee
1997-2001 Appointed Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition (Rt Hon William Hague, MP)
1998 British Sports Writer’s Award for ‘Most Outstanding Contribution to Sport in the last 50 years’
1999 2000 Commission International Olympic Committee
1999 Appointed Chairman of Fast Track Ltd
1999 Appointed President of the Amateur Athletic Association
2000 Elevated to The House of Lords, The Lord Coe, OBE