The Australian Olympic Committee, which took almost 1000 people to Tokyo and back without suffering one COVID-19 infection, has not been able to overcome a South Australian demand that any athletes quarantining in Sydney face an extra 14 days isolation upon their return to the state.

Although Olympic authorities could rearrange the return of many of the 53 SA-bound athletes so that they did not fly into Sydney, 16 arrived in the NSW capital and were serving their mandatory 14 days of quarantine there, AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said on Thursday.