• Coe will receive Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday
• Previous winners include David Beckham and Alex Ferguson
Sebastian Coe is to be honoured for his achievements on and off the track by being given the Lifetime Achievement Award at Sunday's BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards. The broadcaster says Lord Coe's recognition comes not only for his efforts in leading the bid to bring, and subsequent successful staging of, the Olympic and Paralympic Games to London, but also for his career as a middle-distance runner. The 56-year-old, who was last month appointed as the new chairman of the British Olympic Association, won 1500m golds at successive Games in 1980 and 1984. Coe became chairman of the London 2012 bid team in 2004 and played a key role in securing the vote ahead of a bid from Paris. A 12-time world record-holder, he retired in 1990 and became Conservative MP for Falmouth and Camborne. In 2002 he was made a peer, Lord Coe of Ranmore, and was knighted in 2006.
Previous winners of the lifetime achievement award include David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson and most recently Sir Steve Redgrave.
This year's ceremony is one of the most eagerly anticipated in history, coming at the end of a memorable year for British sport.
Nicola Adams, Ben Ainslie, Jessica Ennis, Mo Farah, Katherine Grainger, Sir Chris Hoy, Rory McIlroy, Andy Murray, Ellie Simmonds, Sarah Storey, David Weir and Bradley Wiggins are in the running for the award.
Wiggins, the Tour de France and Olympic time-trial gold medalist, is the current favourite.
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Guardian