Of all of the top runners of the 20th century, Sebastian Coe in many ways seems the most unlikely. While many runners were attracted to running as the only alternative in a life of poverty and destitution, that was far from the case for Seb Coe.

Coming from a fairly well off British family, his father an engineer and his mother an actress, Coe had many other options for success outside of running. In fact, even during his most intense periods of training, he would try to maintain other interests. Academics were always the top priority for Coe, and everyone knew he was destined for a successful post-running career in politics.

But running was always special for Seb; he took to the sport at a very young age and never strayed from it. "I never walked anywhere, it seems. I had a genuine, instinctive love for running," he said.

During his entire long and storied career, Sebastian Coe had but one coach-his father. Peter Coe and never coached before guiding his son, in fact knew little about the sport of running. But their bond was impenetrable. As he progressed through the ranks of junior runner to internationalist, Seb totally and completely believed in his father's training methodology. "There is nothing revolutionary in what I (did) with Seb, said Peter Coe," adding "I was seeking a coherent training rationale and found I had to create it."

Peter Coe was a believer in speed as the ultimate pre-requisite to success. Coe was never a practitioner of high mileage. He had his young son running steep hills, but drove him back down to the bottom to save the wear and tear on his legs. In his book "Running Free, Seb wrote, "I needed leg speed. My stride leg length was never a problem, but on occasion, maintaining a fast cadence was." Said Peter, "You can no longer go up in distance to hide from speed. It's speed, speed, speed." Even his "base work" running was at a very quick 5:15 to 5:30 per mile tempo. Through his youth, Seb was preparing for the searing races he would run as an adult.

Father and son worked together, progressing through the ranks. A benchmark performance came at the European Junior Championships in 1975. At age 19, Coe won the bronze medal in the 1,500 meters in a time of 3:45. His first sub four-minute mile, 3:58.3, came just a year later in London's Crystal Palace.

Coe's progress was slowed by a foot injury incurred from stepping in a hole in 1978, but he recovered to run races late in the season. He toed the line in Prague for the biggest race of his life, the European Championships 800 meters. It was in that race the rivalry that would define his career was born. Coe finished third in that race, behind winner Olaf Beyer from Germany, and a fellow Brit by the name of Steve Ovett. For most of his career, what Seb accomplished would be refracted in the light of Ovett's results. Coe had found a rival who would push him to the greatest heights of world class running.

Coe was immersed in his studies during the winter of 1978/79, and was forced to train through the dismal Sheffield winter. Coe reduced his 400-meter best to 47.4 in May, and in June, free from his studies, was able shift his focus to running only.

The payoff was immense. At the Bislett Games in July, Coe shocked the world by breaking Alberto Juantorena's 800-meter world record, clocking 1:42:33. As if to further convince the skeptics, Coe returned to Bislett two weeks later for the Golden Mile, featuring a star-studded field. By the bell lap, Coe was alone in front, ahead of Steve Scott, John Walker, and Eamonn Couglan. Coe looked back on the home straight, but there was no challenge in the offing. He broke the tape in 3:48:95, a new world best. With this performance, Coe was an instant celebrity in his beloved Britain. Coe finished off an amazing 41 day run with a world record in the 1,500 meters, clocking 3:32.1. Heading into the Moscow Olympics in 1980, Coe wore the heavy cloak of favorite. Nothing less than gold would suffice, for Coe, his coach, or his legion of supporters.

The main obstacle for Coe heading into Moscow was Ovett. He rivalry produced a tremendous strain, although Seb tried to keep a stiff upper lip and accommodate the press and his fans as best he could. Ovett, tabbed "Mr. Nasty" by the press, stopped talking altogether. Relations between the two were strained at best. Said agent Brad Hunt, "They were not friends, though there was a great deal of mutual respect."

The rivals were both at peak form heading into the Games in Moscow. Both had entered the 1,500 and the 800, which was held first. "I've never known pressure like it," said Coe. Uncharacteristically, Coe let Ovett dictate the pace in the 800 and never was in the race. His finishing sprint was too late, as Ovett won the gold. It was a crushing defeat for Seb. "There is only one medal that counts," he said later, "I have to make sure it does not happen again."

It did not. In the biggest, most pressure-packed race of his career, Coe rose to the occasion in the 1,500 final, proving to all that he was not just a record setter, but could win the big races when it counted too. Clocking an unheard of 12.1 seconds for the final 100 meters, Coe's kick was too much for Ovett and others. Coe's gaping expression of joy and relief at the finish line remains as one of the most striking in Olympic history. After the race he said, "I knew I could now retire at any point and feel a satisfied man."

Seb Coe did not retire, nor did he face his rival Ovett for another four years. It was as if more races between the two would be too much to bear. Both went on to more record setting performances, but not against each other. In June of 1981, Coe ran perhaps his finest race, smashing his own 800 meter record in an astonishing 1:41:73 in Florence Italy. It wouldbe more than 15 years before another would approach that mark.

When the 1984 Olympic rolled around, Seb was not in top form however, laid low by an illness. Few gave him much chance of winning more gold, but again he rose to the occasion and proved his skeptics wrong. After gaining another silver medal in the 800 behind young phenom Joaquin Cruz from Brazil, Coe again struck gold in the 1,500. A new British runner named Steve Cram was his main competition this time, but Cram's kick was no match for Coe, as he easily strode to victory. After the finish this time,Coe looked towards the British press box and made an angry gesture towards the journalists who had openly doubted his ability to perform in the Olympics as he had in 1980.

Although his running career is framed by the two Olympic Games, Seb continued to run well after the 1984 Games. In fact he ran his best 1,500-meter time in 1988, nearly a decade after he had ascended to world class status. Said Peter Coe, "Seb lasted 13 years at the top. A few days before his 33rd birthday, he ran 1:43:33 to beat the best of the Kenyans. How many would stop at that level?"

Sebastian Coe has gone on to a career in British politics, serving in the Parliament for many years now. He has been mentioned as a possible successor to the late Primo Nebiolo, the czar of world track and field for the IAAF. But whatever he does, Seb Coe will be remembered for his silky smooth stride and his tremendous performances, which rank him one of the top runners of the 20th century.