A Runner's Lonely Decision

When Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in January urged Britain's athletes to boycott the Olympics, many of her countrymen found themselves torn between an urge to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and their desire to see Sebastian Coe bring home some gold. Coe, 23, is the world record holder at 800, 1,000 and 1,500 meters, and held the mile record as well until only two weeks ago. So intense was the public and press curiosity about whether he would join the majority of the 67-member British team in forgoing the trip to Moscow that Coe fled to Italy to train. "I shall have to make a decision about the Games at some stage," he said. "Not as an athlete, but as a rounded person."

Coe's final decision to compete, which he announced in March, set the stage for an epic confrontation in the 800 and 1,500 with another nonboycotting Brit, Steve Ovett, 24, who on July 1 shaved .2 second from Coe's mile record of 3 min. 49 sec. Hungry for an international sports success, most Britons seemed to support Coe's decision. Still, young "Seb" came under pressure from boycott backers to stay at home. He handled it with analytical detachment, as befits a scholar-athlete with a double bachelor of arts degree (he studied economics, social history and political science at Loughborough University). Asked by an interviewer if he cared at all about Afghanistan, Coe replied coolly: "I am absorbed. I can see the seriousness of this issue and where the world seems to be moving."

At his family's comfortable home in Sheffield, Coe spent hours discussing the boycott with his father (and trainer) Peter Coe, who owns a cutlery manufacturing firm. Said the elder Coe: "Often we would sit up until 1 in the morning, over countless cups of coffee, thrashing out the pros and cons." Ultimately, Seb Coe concluded that sports and politics should not be mixed. "It is a clash of two worlds," he declared. "Governments, politicians, are ruled by expediency. Athletes live in a world of natural law."

Some boycott supporters found the explanation a touch disingenuous. The thrill of competition, the glory of victory and the promise of lucrative endorsements must also have been powerful considerations. It was pointed out too that the Soviet press reported Coe's decision with great glee. Countered the middle-distance star: "I am not going to be used as a standard-bearer by people on either side of the debate."

As the Games neared, the debate focused more on the Coe-Ovett matchup. Relations between the two are chilly, perhaps because they are so different. The affable, talkative Coe is the people's choice. A 5-ft. 9 1/4-in., 129-lb. bantam, Coe emphasizes speed over endurance in his training. Ovett is intense and taciturn, especially with the press. He does little but eat, sleep and train; in an average week he will turn in 160 or more miles in contrast to Coe's 50 to 70. After he shattered Coe's mile mark, however, Ovett did permit himself a rare moment of public exultation: "One of the big goals this season was to take this world record from Sebastian Coe--it tasted terrific."

Coe's post-Olympic plans include a career in business management or political journalism, as well as further work toward a master's degree. However he fares in Moscow, his experience should be useful when he writes his thesis. Its subject: the sociological, physiological and political aspects of sports as a career.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.