John Coates has pursued success at sports administration with a dedication most reserve for elite competition. Peter Bowers reveals the motivations, and the mates, that have earned him a leading role in the greatest show on Earth - the $6 billion 2000 Olympics.

John Coates was nine years old when he landed his first job in sports administration as secretary of the under-10 cricket club at St John's Anglican Church, Strathfield, in Sydney. The year was 1959. The Olympic journey had begun with a small boy taking one small step.