Olympian Sergey Bubka In Pole Position For World Athletics Presidency

Former Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka "is poised to leap into the driving seat of world athletics" should British Olympic Association Chair Sebastian Coe fill the vacant chair at the BBC Trust, "an appointment which would mean the man who masterminded Britain’s 2012 Olympic triumph having to abandon his bid to become president of the sport’s governing body," the Int'l Association of Athletics Federations, according to Alan Hubbard of the London INDEPENDENT. Coe "is currently favourite to succeed the octogenarian Senegalese judge Lamine Diack in next year’s election, but the BBC role would rule him out, appropriately leaving fellow vice-president Bubka in pole position." The 57-year-old two-time Olympic Gold Medalist has intimated interest in what he describes as "a very meaty job" but he is also conscious of the "serious effect on his remaining sporting ambitions." He did not respond to calls but "sources close to him" said he has spent the past few weeks "mulling things over" (INDEPENDENT, 6/28).