Sebastian Coe has vowed to continue lobbying for votes until the very last moment amid indications that he has edged ahead of his rival Sergey Bubka in the race to become president of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Both Lord Coe and Bubka were still doing the rounds of meetings of the IAAF’s 214 members on Tuesday in Beijing ahead of the vote on Wednesday morning, with the result expected around 4am UK time.
Coe, the double Olympic gold medallist who was chair of the London 2012 organising committee, claims to have met representatives of every member association since he began campaigning in earnest for the role late last year.
The Ukrainian former pole vaulter’s campaign, in contrast, has been more low-key and is relying for support on personal and regional loyalties built up during his 14-year involvement with the governing body.
“We’re working hard and we assume absolutely nothing,” said Coe. “Elections are won and lost right up until the last moment.”
The campaign has taken place against a backdrop of mounting crisis within the sport, with allegations of systemic doping in Russia followed by claims, denied by the IAAF, that athletes with suspicious blood values were not properly pursued.
The electoral lobbying will continue during a welcome dinner in the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square and long into the night as both try to convince wavering voters.
Coe is well ahead based on those who have publicly declared a preference but Bubka has insisted that his lead does not reflect the true picture.
Bubka has drafted in his fellow Ukrainian sporting stars Andriy Shevchenko and Vitali Klitschko to help his final lobbying effort and both could be seen milling around the lobby of the congress hotel flanked by heavy security.
Among those in Beijing as part of Coe’s backroom team are Hugh Robertson, the former Conservative MP who was minister for sport and the Olympics during the London 2012 Games.
The vote will be conducted electronically despite a proposal by the outgoing president Lamine Diack, stepping down after 16 years in the role at the age of 82, to use traditional paper ballots in light of previous problems with the electronic voting system.
