Outgoing AOC president John Coates on the strong stand sport must take against Russia, Putin

The AOC has a new chief, but outgoing boss John Coates didn’t leave his post quietly — see his replacement and what Coates said about Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

Ian Chesterman has been elected as the new president of the Australian Olympic Committee after a landslide election win.

Chesterman, 63, replaces John Coates, who stood down after 32 years in the job.

A member of the AOC executive for two decades, Chesterman beat former Olympic swimming medallist Mark Stockwell after an election polling votes from representatives of Australia’s Olympic sport.

Regarded as one of the most important jobs in Australian sports administration, the role has taken on added significance after Brisbane was last year selected as the host for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.

Chesterman was the favourite after serving as the Australian team chef de mission at six Winter Olympics as well as last year’s Tokyo Olympics.

Chesterman received 67 of the 93 votes.

Chesterman won high praise for his role in overseeing the team’s stunning success in the Japanese capital – with Australia winning a record-equalling 17 gold medals – but Stockwell had plenty of his own supporters too.

Ian Chesterman has been elected as the new boss of the AOC.

A triple medallist at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Stockwell has forged a successful career in business and sports administration, serving on the board of the Australian Sports Commission and was chair of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

With Chesterman elected only until the 2024 Paris Olympics Stockwell could well run again at the next election in two years.

First elected in 1990, Coates ends his tenure as the longest serving AOC President but the 71-year-old will remain heavily involved in the He has already been named as honorary life president, a non voting role that he will assume after the 2024 Paris Olympics, and has been appointed as a board member of the organising committee for Brisbane 2032.

Coates also remains vice-president of the IOC until Paris, when he has to stand down because of his age, but will certainly be awarded life membership.

Chesterman won praise for overseeing Australia’s success in Tokyo.

IOC president Thomas Bach travelled to Sydney and paid tribute to Coates while addressing the meeting.

“You may not be have the grace and elegance of Cathy Freeman and you may not

have the dynamism of Dawn Fraser, but you are truly a “one off”,” Bach said.

“You have changed the face of the Olympic Movement here in Australia. You are a champion.”

Coates, 71, also addressed the meeting for the last time, touching on a wide range of topics, from the Australian team’s success in Tokyo to the ban on Russian athletes from the Games after the invasion of Ukraine.

“Nothing is as reductive as war,” Coates said.

“Cruel and careless bringing loss and chaos — the current plight of so many Ukrainians.

Which is why we condemn the acts of the Russian Federation.

“They have lost their right to membership of the international Olympic community.

“There are no stadiums for their colours, no poles for their flags, no music for their songs, and no dais for their athletes.

“That is the position of the IOC and the AOC.”

Outgoing Olympic chief doubles down on Russia condemnation

Outgoing Australian Olympic (AOC) supremo John Coates has doubled down on his firm belief the sports world needs to unite and take tough action against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Holding nothing back in his final address as AOC president, Coates said he fully supported the decision by sporting bodies, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to ban Russia from attending or hosting major sports events while the war rages in Europe.

Outgoing AOC chief has again condemned Russia Photo: Getty Images)

“We condemn the acts of the Russian Federation,” Coates said.

“They have lost their right to membership of the international Olympic community.

“There are no stadiums for their colours, no poles for their flags, no music for their songs, and no dais for their athletes.

“That is the position of the IOC and the AOC.”

A stickler for keeping politics out of politics, Coates said Russia’s attacks on its eastern European neighbours had changed things.

He said the sports world was right to take the lead and boot Russian teams into touch because innocent athletes were literally being dragged into the conflict.

“Ukrainians are being forced to defend their families and homes. Ukrainian athletes are amongst them – many having returned home for this purpose,” said Coates, who stood down as AOC president after 32 years and was replaced by Ian Chesterman.

“How sad it is that young men and women must swap their racquets and running spikes for rifles and flak jackets.

“How sad it is that any person in the year 2022 must replace the peaceful tools of their trade with weapons necessary for their defence.

“We commend their bravery with heavy hearts in the knowledge that they must face this tragic anachronism.”

Coates also announced that the AOC would support humanitarian visa applications by Ukrainian athletes trying to resettle in Australia.

He also said the AOC would contribute US$100,000 (A$140,000) to an IOC Solidarity Fund helping Ukrainian victims of the war.

“We are part of an international sporting movement using its powerful voice,” Coates said.

“We will continue to use it until this crisis is over.”

The IOC President Thomas Bach, who travelled to Australia to attend an early planning meeting for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and pay homage to his lifelong friend, also reiterated the sporting world’s commitment to send a powerful message to Russia.

“The war in Ukraine is unique for the Olympic Movement precisely because it is such a blatant violation of the Olympic Truce, but also because of the global response,” Bach said.

“All this does not, however, make us forget the victims of the far too many other wars and conflicts in our fragile world.

“In our Olympic community we are all equal and this is why everyone affected by war deserves our attention and support.

“This is exactly what we are continuing to do. ”