ICYMI: Coates Defends Australia's 2032 Bid; French Figure Skating Scandal

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Coates Defends Australia's 2032 Bid

(ATR) Australian Olympic chief John Coates reveals he has offered to take those against the Queensland 2032 Olympics bid, such as rebel Senator Pauline Hanson, through the major changes that will ensure the Games are worth it.

The revelation comes as Sydney and Australia plan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "The best Games" ever staged in the Harbour city in 2000 and as the Australian Olympic Committee prepares to send its athletes to the Games of the 32nd Olympiad in Tokyo.

It is an ideal time to regenerate the Olympic spirit, to build the enthusiasm for the Brisbane bid as Australians traditionally revel in the country’s Olympic history and fervour and the stories behind its already established sporting heroes and the unveiling of a new generation of Olympic success.

The Australian Olympic Committee president has written an open letter in today’s Courier Mail – the major News Limited masthead in Queensland, in response to Senator Hanson’s campaign against Queensland’s 2032 Olympics bid in a move that the paper says turns the Games into a political issue for October’s Queensland State election.

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Scandal Strikes French Figure Skating

(ATR) The president of the French Federation of Ice Skating says he will not resign in the face of allegations he kept secret allegations of rape against a top coach.

Didier Gailhaguet held a press conference in Paris today, his first since the rape allegations were disclosed last week. On Monday, Minister of Sport Roxana Maracineanu issued a call for Gailhaguet to step down.

Claims of sexual assault have been made by at least four figure skaters against their coaches from the 1970's to 1990’s. The allegations have come to light in the past week following the publication of a book by one of the skaters, Sarah Abitbol.

She reveals that for a period of two years from 1990 to 1992, coach Gilles Beyer sexually assaulted her, a 15-year-old when the assaults started.

Beyer last week admitted to the inappropriate relationship.

A police investigation has been launched following a week of headlines in the French media.

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No Name Yet for UK OTT Channel

(ATR) Plans move forward to launch an OTT platform in the U.K. for Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Former BBC and Discovery executive Dominic Coles has been tapped as chairman of the new enterprise to be known as GB Sport Media.

A name for the media platform hasn’t been announced yet. It is expected to launch after the Tokyo Olympics.

A collective of sports bodies including the British Olympic Association, British Paralympic Association, UK Sport and national governing bodies are stakeholders in the project which has been in developmentfor nearly two years.

The rights have been obtained for a range of British championships and other national and regional events. Non-exclusive rights to some international events have been secured, as well. So far more than 2600 hours of content with 26 sports have been booked.

Advertising network Omnicom Group and its sport consultancy Fuse have been working on the platform.

Coles will be responsible for negotiations with broadcast and media platforms and content providers.

GB Sport Media is searching for a media organization which will co-create the platform.

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