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| London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe
(L) and bid official Allan Pascoe talks to reporters in
Singapore. Olympic celebrations will be put
on hold following the deadly blasts in London.(AFP/Roslan Rahman)
| |
Lord Coe has won his greatest ever race by bringing
the 2012 Olympics to London.
He may have won two Olympic gold medals and smashed 12 world records,
but Coe's achievement in leading London to a stunning victory eclipses them all. His jubilation is understandable as it
is his leadership which has been pivotal in helping London claim
sport's biggest prize.
For so long the London bid was regarded as way off the pace and when
the five candidate cities were originally shortlisted, London was rated
third behind Paris and Madrid. And Paris was universally regarded as such
strong favourites that the contest was seen as effectively over.
But with the exquisite timing that he showed so often in an illustrious
career, Coe helped London produce the late charge which saw them pip their
French rivals.
He joined London's team as one of three vice-chairmen two years ago but
by May last year he was in charge - taking over from American
businesswoman Barbara Cassani.
His CV was perfect for the job, not only did he have the medals and the
profile but his contacts and detailed knowledge of sporting politics gave
him massive influence with those who would decide London's fate. And with
quiet determination and steely resolve, Coe began to turn the fortunes of
London's bid around.
Emphasis was made on the legacy of the Games for London and Britain as
well as trying to address concerns over the capital's transport system.
The use of stars such as Sir Steve Redgrave, David Beckham and Matthew
Pinsent gave the bid an air of authority that was hard to ignore.
With sporting figures, politicians and the public lending support, the
IOC's evaluation commission gave a glowing report after their visit to
London in February and the race was well and truly on.
Coe travelled tirelessly and by the time the world's focus turned to
Singapore for the crucial vote on Wednesday, the London bid had incredible
momentum.
But Coe saved his finest masterstroke for the closing moments
of the campaign when he delivered a very personal speech to IOC delegates
during London's final presentation in Singapore. His speech, in the final
moments of an incredibly close battle, turned the race in London's favour.
Coe left such an indelible mark on the London bid that IOC president
Jacques Rogge paid tribute to him following the vote announcement.
"I met Seb for the first time on the steps of the Olympic restaurant in
Moscow in 1980 when he had won gold. Someone introduced us and we could
not have believed at that time, that we would be signing the host country
contract," he said.
Before the result was announced Coe had said that: "If we win I'll
carry the flame home, if we lose I'll carry
the can."
So many times in his athletics career he was on the shoulders of his
rivals on the final bend before producing his trademark kick for home to
claim victory.
And
he did just that in Singapore to claim Olympic glory for Britain once
again.
(Agencies) |
塞巴斯蒂安·科勋爵赢得了他一生之中最辉煌的一次胜利：他成功地把2012年奥运会的主办权带回了伦敦。
他曾经赢得过两块奥运金牌，他曾经打破12项世界纪录，然而，所有这一切在他带领伦敦取得奥运会主办权的辉煌胜利面前都黯然失色。我们不难理解他当时的狂喜——伦敦这次能赢得体育界的最高殊荣，离不开他出色的领导能力。
在很长一段时间里，人们一直认为伦敦离申奥成功尚有不小的距离。当五个候选城市名单最初公布时，伦敦排在巴黎和马德里之后，位居第三。人们普遍看好巴黎，巴黎的优势如此明显，以至于人们认为申奥争夺战其实早已结束。
但是，凭借着巧妙的时间安排，塞巴斯蒂安·科帮助伦敦发起了最后一轮猛攻，并最终击败竞争对手法国。这种巧妙安排时间的天赋在其辉煌的运动生涯中早已展现无遗。
两年前，他加入了伦敦奥申委，与另外两人一起成为奥申委副主席。去年五月份，他取代了美国女商人芭芭拉·卡萨尼，荣升为伦敦奥申委主席。
科的履历表明他是这项工作的不二人选，他不仅是奥运金牌得主，拥有辉煌的体育人生，而且他在国际体育界的人脉资源以及对体育政治的了解使他能够影响那些决定伦敦申奥命运的人。凭借着沉着冷静的意志和坚定不移的决心，科逐渐扭转了伦敦申奥的命运。
在整个申奥过程中，伦敦一直强调奥运遗产对伦敦乃至整个英国的巨大影响，同时也尽力排除人们对伦敦交通系统的担忧。他们还邀请一些明星前来助阵，史蒂夫·雷德格雷夫爵士、大卫·贝克汉姆和马修·品森特的友情相助给伦敦申奥笼罩了一层权威气氛，任何人都不敢小觑。
在众多体育明星、政客和公众的大力支持下，国际奥委会评估小组在二月份视察伦敦之后发表了一份热情洋溢的报告，申奥之争这时也才真正开始。
科不知疲倦地来回奔波。本周三（7月6日），当全世界的目光都聚集在即将在新加坡进行的关键性投票时，伦敦申奥的势头已让人大吃一惊。
但是，科将其完美的一击留在了这场争夺战的最后关头。当伦敦奥申委代表团在新加坡作最后陈述时，他向国际奥委会的代表们做了一个极具个性化的演讲。在这场异常激烈的竞争的最后时刻，他的演讲使申奥之争朝着有利于伦敦的方向发展
科为伦敦申奥留下了浓墨重彩的一笔，连国际奥委会主席雅克·罗格在宣布最终投票结果之后也向他表示敬意。
“我第一次遇见塞布是在莫斯科奥运会餐厅的台阶上。那是在1980年，当时他刚刚获得奥运金牌。我们是经别人介绍认识的。那时，我们无论如何也不会想到，有朝一日我们会一起签署东道国协议。”他这样说。
在最终结果揭晓之前，科就放言：“如果我们赢了，我会把奥运圣火带回家；如果我们输了，我会为此负责。”
在其运动生涯中，他曾多次在最后一个弯道时还是与对手并驾齐驱，直到最后阶段才发动他那标志性的冲刺，并最终为祖国赢得胜利。
本周他在新加坡又上演了这一幕，不过这一次，他把奥林匹克的荣耀再次带回英国。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-07-08 10:50
