John Coates Hints at Possible Olympic Bid

(ATR) John Coates is throwing out the possibility of an Olympics bid for Australia down the road should he be reelected as president of the country’s Olympic committee.

Coates, who has been AOC president for 27 years and is a key player in the Olympic movement as an IOC vice president, made the comments in a column he wrote in the Australian Financial Review on Wednesday.

"We speak with authority on Olympic bids and selection processes, on gender equality, on protecting clean athletes, on models for reducing the cost of Olympic venues and on relationships with sponsors and the media," Coates wrote.

"And when the time comes for Australia to again step forward and ask to be considered to host the greatest event on earth, our confidence, expertise and wisdom will hold us in good stead."

Coates is facing a stern challenge from businesswoman Danni Roche, the Atlanta 1996 field hockey gold medalist, with the vote this Saturday at the AOC General Meeting in Sydney.

Roche was also given the opportunity to write a column for the Australian Financial Review. She reiterated her commitment that the funding of athletes was a top priority.

"When sports can’t invest in their future, the risk of losing talented athletes to another sport, or to sport altogether, is real," she wrote.

Roche says she will not take a salary should she be elected. Coates currently makes AU $750,000 a year as AOC president.

If Roche’s campaign proves successful, Coates’ ex-officio role as an IOC vice president would cease to exist. Coates currently serves as first vice president of the IOC, chair of the Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020 and chair of the working group of IOC vice presidents reviewing the Olympic bidding process.

The man who was Coates’ predecessor as both AOC president and IOC vice president, Kevan Gosper, is endorsing Coates.

Gosper is also lamenting the tone of the campaign, telling the Sydney Morning Herald "What has concerned me is the damage that the campaign to displace John has done to the Olympic brand here in Australia."

"Unlike a normal contest, there's been no great promotion of the candidate, rather a sustained attack on the incumbent. As a result of that, a lot of good work that has been done with the Olympic movement has been diminished."

Coates, as sitting AOC president, gets to address the General Meeting ahead of the vote on Saturday while Roche will not be given an opportunity to speak.

The AOC says 93 of a possible 94 voters are expected to cast ballots. James Tomkins, AOC Executive Member and Member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, will be in Lausanne for a meeting of the IOC Program Commission and is not entitled to a proxy.

Written by Gerard Farek

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