Kitty Chiller is on track to lead the Australian Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Games

KITTY Chiller’s hopes of leading the Australian Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Games have been significantly boosted by John Coates’ re-election as AOC president.

Kitty Chiller looks set to lead Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

KITTY Chiller’s hopes of leading the Australian Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Games have been significantly boosted by John Coates’ re-election as AOC president.

Chiller wants to continue as chef de mission despite a torrid baptism in Rio last year, when her hard-line disciplinary approach and ambitious medal predictions were resented.

A Coates protege and supporter, Chiller was returned to the AOC executive at Saturday’s election.

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Her Tokyo hopes now rest with a board comprised largely of Coates’ allies.

With the departure of London 2012 chef de mission Nick Green from the board, Chiller is the only person on the executive qualified for the position, apart from Coates and vice-president Ian Chesterman.

Under AOC guidelines, the chef de mission must have experience as a section manager or deputy chef de mission and sit on the executive.

More successful athletes on the executive such as Michael Murphy and Nicole Livingstone do not have Chiller’s administrative history.

Australia's chef de mission Kitty Chiller in Rio. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Coates stepped away from the chef de mission position after Beijing 2008 and his role as head of the Tokyo co-ordination and legal commissions would rule him out.

Chesterman’s duties as team leader for next February’s Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea — as well as his business obligations — would seemingly preclude the Tasmanian from becoming involved in the same role for Tokyo.

Chiller was criticised in Rio for predicting Australia would finish in the top five with about 15 gold medals, a forecast athletes said created unnecessary pressure.

Australia finished 10th — its lowest placing in 24 years — with eight golds.

Chiller was also widely condemned for publicly disciplining swimmers Emma McKeon and Josh Palmer for breaches of team rules as relations between AOC staff and the swimming team became almost irreparable.

She also had to fend off criticism for the embarrassing tampering of accreditation passes that led to nine Australian athletes being detained by police before former chief executive Fiona de Jong intervened to secure their release.

AOC president John Coates was re-elected last week. Picture: Getty Images

Team officials had allegedly defied Chiller’s edict to halt the sticker tampering, which is common practice among officials trying to help athletes obtain access to venues other than their own to support fellow competitors.

Former athletes and team staffers Natalie Cook, Lachlan Milne, Jamie Edwards and Meg Sissian were sent home from the Games early because of the fiasco.

Before the Games Chiller alienated the tennis community with her attacks that led to the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic.

Coates used his victory media conference again to reject suggestions outside agencies should have input into appointing the chef de mission for Tokyo.

Australian Sports Commission chairman John Wylie wrote to Coates in January, saying: “As part of a closer and renewed partnership between our organisations, we think it reasonable and appropriate that the selection process for the Summer and Winter Games’ chef de mission roles be handled as a partnership between us in an open process involving consideration of a range of candidates.”

Kitty Chiller had issues with Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios before the Rio Games. Picture: AFP Photo

On Saturday, Coates again rebuffed the idea. “A line was drawn in the sand in regard to that proposal (in January),” he said.

Chiller was strongly supported in Rio — and since — by media director Mike Tancred, who has stood down from his position after De Jong’s formal complaint against him for alleged bullying.

Tancred’s alleged threat to “bury” De Jong stemmed from a complaint made to Coates about Chiller.

A panel of three judges will investigate De Jong’s claims and report back to the AOC on June 1.

The AOC’s first meeting of the new executive is not scheduled until August.

Originally published as Kitty Chiller is on track to lead the Australian Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Games