Premier would embrace return of ‘gold medal maker Chelsea Warr after shock exit
Chelsea Warr would be welcomed back to contribute to the Queensland Academy of Sport just two months after her shock exit following repeated clashes with bureaucrats, Steven Miles has revealed.
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High-performance sports administrator Chelsea Warr would be welcomed back to contribute to the Queensland Academy of Sport amid a review to determine whether the agency becomes independent, Premier Steven Miles has revealed.
Dubbed “the gold medal maker”, Ms Warr sensationally quit as chief executive of the government-run academy in February following repeated clashes with bureaucrats about how it should operate.
Fears the Queensland Academy of Sport was being caught in bureaucratic red tape prompted Mr Miles to launch a structural review to assess whether – eight years away from the 2032 Olympic Games – the high-performance unit should become a stand-alone agency.
The Premier on Monday declined to be drawn on the future of the academy following the inquiry.
“I won’t pre-empt the outcome of that review,” he said.
“My recollection was that wasn’t going to take too long to do that review.”
Ms Warr had tried, without success, to have the Queensland Academy of Sport operate as an entity separate from government.
Mr Miles acknowledged Ms Warr’s sporting capability and tipped she would support the state in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“As to Chelsea, I’d certainly welcome her continuing to make a contribution,” he said.
“She’s an incredibly impressive person and what the best role for that contribution is, I’m happy to discuss with her.”
Ms Warr was dubbed “the gold medal maker” after revolutionising UK Sport.
During her 14 years with that academy she took Great Britain from having won just one gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games to second place on the world stage at Rio in 2016, with 27 golds.
After returning to her home state of Queensland in 2020 to take the top job with the QAS, Ms Warr set a cracking pace for transformation – securing funding for multimillion-dollar gyms at both Chandler and Nathan campuses.
The state government’s proposed redevelopment of Nathan’s Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre to host athletics in 2032 could result in the academy’s $10m high-performance centre – of which Ms Warr was instrumental in establishing – being demolished.
It prompted major sport stars to lead a chorus of warnings that Queensland’s Olympic medal chances would be crippled if Mr Miles pushed forward with displacing the Queensland Academy of Sport – which has its flagship training facility located in one of the grandstands.
There are as yet no plans in place to accommodate the athletes.
In March four-time Olympian Cate Campbell said the demolition of a much-touted high performance centre would sabotage Queensland’s success at the Brisbane Olympics.
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