Coe honoured by Princess Royal

Lord Coe paid tribute to the people who made London's Olympic and Paralympic Games a huge success as he received a prestigious national award.

The Olympian-turned-sports supremo was a major driving force behind an unforgettable summer of sporting excellence as the head of London 2012, which organised the event.

The two-time Olympic champion was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by the Princess Royal during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

But he modestly said he shared the award with his talented team at Locog (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games), volunteers and the enthusiastic British public.

Speaking after the ceremony, he said: "It's a lovely honour and I'm deeply flattered but it is really signal recognition for the extraordinary work of so many people: our teams at Locog, the most talented, focused people I've ever worked with - passionate people - but also the people of Britain whose generosity of spirit helped get us across the line."

He added: "The thing that always makes me most proud is the community effort that went into this, whether the teams at Locog or the armed services during the Games themselves, all our volunteers, our business and commercial partners - everybody played a part."

Lord Coe took over the helm of London's bid to the stage the Games in 2004 and successfully brought the event to London with a pledge to the International Olympic Committee that it would inspire a new generation.

The Olympics and Paralympics captured the imagination of the nation and athletes from across the globe were cheered on by tens of thousands who packed stadiums and sporting venues across the country.

Lord Coe was recently appointed chairman of the British Olympic Association and will now help to steer another generation of athletes in the run-up to the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The Order of the Companions of Honour consists of the sovereign and 65 ordinary members and recognises service of national importance.

Lord Coe now joins an illustrious list of recipients who include scientist Professor Stephen Hawking, naturalist Sir David Attenborough and painter David Hockney.

Lord Coe is considered one of the world's greatest middle-distance runners and had famous race-track duels with his British rival, Steve Ovett.

He won four Olympic medals, a gold and a silver in the 1500m and 800m respectively, at the 1980 and 1984 Games, set 12 world records and amassed numerous European, Commonwealth and British titles from a golden age of athletics.

Once his heyday on the track ended, he spent five years as Tory MP for Falmouth and Camborne, becoming a party whip, and then chief of staff to former Tory leader William Hague. He was made a peer - Lord Coe of Ranmore - in 2002.

He added: "My focus was in large part on delivering a Games that gave the athletes the best opportunity to compete at the very highest level.

"I know how important that is because I'd come through, from the age of 11, through my sport. I'd had family support, local community, school teachers, coaches - all of a voluntary nature - so I knew how important it was to get it right for the athletes because they deserve no less then that."

Lord Coe also praised Anne, who presented him with the honour and is herself a fellow Olympian and a member of the Locog board.

He said: "The Princess Royal has been a fixture in the British and international Olympic world. She helped us during the bid, she's been a very hard-working member of the Locog board and, from a personal perspective, I was very very pleased that I received the award from her."

Lord Coe came top of a list of Olympic and Paralympic champions and key executives who all received honours from Anne at the palace.

Paralympics superstar David Weir was awarded a CBE after collecting a haul of gold medals at London 2012.

The wheelchair racer, nicknamed the Weirwolf, was unbeaten during last year's Games, winning gold in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and the T54 Marathon.

The 26.2-mile race was the last event of the Paralympics and ecstatic crowds lined the Mall, cheering on the sportsman as he crossed the finish line.

London 2012 was his fourth Games and he now has a career haul of six gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Weir's achievements have cemented him as a household name and he is widely regarded as the greatest wheelchair racer of all time.

After the ceremony, the sportsman recalled his memories of last summer

"It was just a special time for any Paralympian - we knew it was going to be big because it was going to be in our home city, but just to go out and hear that crowd every day was just an amazing feeling."

Close to tears he added: "It was the first time we didn't feel disabled, we felt like athletes, we felt like Olympians - we felt like we should have been there.

"Seeing that stadium full for morning sessions was just unbelievable, it was just a dream come true. I felt like I was dreaming all the time, I just felt 'This is not real'. I thought someone was going to wake me up and I was going to race into an empty stadium.

"I felt so proud to be British and we pulled that off. You've got to thank Seb Coe and Locog and everyone else for telling us it would be the best Paralympics ever."