 "Photo: AP")
Sebastian Coe competed at the boycotted 1980 and 1984 Olympics, winning gold medals at both. He's been a politician, serving as a member of Parliament in Britain. He led London's winning bid for the 2012 Olympics and is now serving as the chief organizer of the games.
All that gives Coe a special perspective on the acrimonious buildup to the Beijing Olympics, the protest-filled torch relay in London and elsewhere, and the criticism of China's human rights record.
"Is it right for the games to be in China?" Coe said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "Absolutely it is right for the games to be in China."
China's recent crackdown in Tibet has sparked talk of a possible boycott of the Beijing Games, though no governments have actually called for a walkout.
The U.S. led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics over the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviets retaliated with their own boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Coe won the gold medal in the 1,500 meters at both.
"I don't think anybody frankly of any credibility is calling for a boycott," he said. "I'd like to think anybody that has even contemplated that just has a cursory glance at history to see how futile they are. There's never been a more important time to redefine, reaffirm the values of international sport, but boycotts frankly don't work. I would like to think that most people have learned that lesson."
"What we have to remember is that sport is not the first resort, it's not the front line of politics. You can't ask the International Olympic Committee to do things that the United Nations Security Council is in a better position to do."
Although the Olympic movement shouldn't "shy away" from the human rights issue, Coe said, it shouldn't use that as the yardstick for awarding the games since every country can be criticized on political grounds.
