Pékin, China: Britain’s Sebastian Coe was on Wednesday elected new president of athletics’ world governing body, the IAAF, beating out Sergey Bubka in a tightly-fought vote.

Coe won 115 votes from the 207 voting member federations that make up the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), with Bubka receiving 92.

Coe takes over from Lamine Diack, the 82-year-old Senegalese who is stepping down after 16 years in charge.