‘Wild Card’ for Coe Withdrawn

International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch today withdrew his suggestion of giving British runner Sebastian Coe a unique “wild card” invitation to next month’s Seoul Games.

The IOC chief indicated that he was bowing to sharp criticism of his plan by other British Olympic athletes, including Steve Cram, the world mile record-holder and one of Coe’s biggest middle-distance rivals. “The Olympic charter is very clear. It says only three athletes per country” and a wild card is “quite impossible,” Samaranch conceded. Coe, a two-time 1,500-meter Olympic champion, was left off the British squad for Seoul after a disastrous performance in the national trials two weeks ago.