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John Coates remains the right candidate for the AOC's top job

AOC President John Coates has refused to step down in light of a damning workplace review. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Expert
30th April, 2017
20

Next Saturday will be one of the most intense moments in Australian sport for a long time when the Australian Olympic Committee presidency will be up for grabs between incumbent John Coates and challenger Danni Roche.

And if the lead-in is any criteria, it’s bound to get ugly.

In the red corner, 66-year-old John Coates – a lawyer and the president of the AOC for the last 27 tears (and never challenged for the title before). He’s vice-president of the powerful International Olympic Committee, chairman of the IOC committee keeping an eye on Tokyo 2020 preparations, and president of the Court for Arbitration of Sport.

In the blue corner, 46-year-old Danni Roche, hardly known outside of her sport hockey as a gold medalist with the Hockeyroos at the 1996 Olympics, and the daughter of Ken Roche, a 400 metre hurdler with Commonwealth Games gold from Perth 1962 and Kingston Jamaica in 1966, and in between an Olympic semi-finalist in Tokyo 1964.

Coates has always been a Sydneysider. Roche was born in Melbourne but has been living in Sydney since 2000 and describes herself now as a Sydneysider.

But make no mistake, the vote on Saturday will be Sydney versus Melbourne.

That’s because Roche was appointed to the Australian Sports Commission headed by John Wylie, a Melbourne man through and through, and also chairman of the MCG.

And it’s no secret Coates and Wylie aren’t on each other’s Christmas card list; there’s a genuine loathing of each other.

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John Coates

Wylie is the key.

He had already asked Americas Cup winner John Bertrand to stand against Coates – Bertrand is now president of Swimming Australia.

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett was another, as was seven times world champion oarsman James Tomkins – all three were non-starters.

While some might beg the question, “why hasn’t Wylie thrown his hat in the AOC presidency ring?”, the fact is he hasn’t, it’s been left to Roche with Wylie’s backing, which is not inconsiderable, with Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle another heavyweight supporter.

Strangely, Sydney-based broadcaster Alan Jones, the best in the business, is not so much a Roche supporter, but rather very anti-Coates,

I find that very disappointing, having known them very well over 40 years. Both are brilliant at what they do, but they will never be on the same page.

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When it comes to heavyweights there, are a lot more in Coates’ corner, led by Herb Elliott, the man who was never beaten on the mile and 1500m track, a world record holder, won Olympic gold in Rome 1960 and immediately retiring at 23, saying he had nothing left to prove.

He has plenty to prove now with Coates very much Elliott’s selection.

So too does former federal sports minister Grahame Richardson and all-time hockey master coach Ric Charlesworth.

No doubt many more will show their hand in the coming week, as there’s a lot at stake.

Roche has nothing to lose, while Coates has plenty.

If Roche wins, Coates will automatically lose all his IOC positions, which will have a devastating effect given how hard it is to crack the IOC inner sanctum.

Next Saturday’s result will be decided by the Australian sporting federations, and how they vote.

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Hopefully those sports won’t vote from the same left field that installed Donald Trump as US President, exited Great Britain from Europe, and decided two unknowns will fight out the French Presidency.

They just must make sure John Coates is the one.

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