Sebastian Coe Olympic Quotations

Getting the Games for London has been the fulfilment of a dream. It is one which I truly believe can change the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people for the better. But in the end, nothing can quite compare with winning your first Olympic gold medal.

From our initial observations, our hard work has paid off. This is a springboard for the next 30 days. We are in good shape to take the battle even harder and further towards our goal of bringing the Olympic Games to London in 2012.

I had a very ordinary background in Sheffield; I went to a secondary modern, but I saw something on TV in 1968 that inspired me to join an athletics club, and 12 years later, with great coaching and the support of people who loved me a lot, I ended up at an Olympic Games.

My overwhelming concern will always be the well-being of the athletes. In Olympic sport, it is rare for competitors not to devote half their young life to this. Their families will have given up all sorts of things to allow them to do that.

Don't expect to see an Olympic Stadium up after Christmas, but don't also be lulled into believing nothing is happening because right at this moment, construction is underway. Work has started and it's started very quickly.

This city provides a wonderful global platform to promote the Olympic movement particularly to a young audience.

In 1981, I spoke at the Olympic Congress. I was scandalised that I was the first athlete to be given that chance. But I made the most of it.

Doing as much as we can in the critical early years of the Olympic planning cycle will ensure that London and the U.K. get the best possible long-term benefits from the new Olympic facilities and services,