Coates, Wylie ‘as bad as each other’

Mark Stockwell has ­resigned as deputy chairman of the ASC, exasperated at the feud between John Wylie and John Coates.

Olympian Mark Stockwell. Picture: Jack Tran

Olympian Mark Stockwell has ­resigned as deputy chairman of the Australian Sports Commission, exasperated at the way the feud between chairman John Wylie and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates is affecting sport.

The Mean Machine swimmer, who won three Olympic medals in 1984, served as Mr Wylie’s deputy for two years but has been dismayed by the unedifying public spectacle that has unfolded during the bitter Australian Olympic Committee election campaign.

“The big issues in sport aren’t being discussed and the Wylie-Coates thing is a distraction and I think both of them are as bad as each other,’’ Mr Stockwell said.

In a boost for Mr Coates last night, the AOC Athletes ­Commission, which has two votes in the election, decided to back him in a non-unanimous majority decision. In a statement, the athletes said they wanted change in the organisation’s structure and governance, but they supported a “planned and strategic transition of John Coates out of the presidency’’ over the next four years. Mr Coates, 66, plans to retire in 2020 if he is re-elected ahead of the challenger, former Hockeyroo and Olympic gold medallist Danni Roche. in a secret ballot at tomorrow’s annual general meeting.

Michael Delany, Greg Fasala, Mark Stockwell and Neil Brooks as the Mean Machine at the 1984 Olympic Games.

If the AOC’s 11-member athletes commission reflects the mood in the AOC constituency then Mr Coates will win re-­election, extending his 26-year reign.

The ASC has not announced Mr Stockwell’s exit, but has quietly removed his name from a list of directors on its website.

“I have been around for 30 years and this blip that’s happening at the moment (with the AOC election) is a distraction and a lot of people are going to get hurt by it,’’ Mr Stockwell said.

“I am more interested in the outcomes for sport and I want to focus on the real issues confronting sport and making sure the athletes get the best deal.’’

Brisbane-based Mr Stockwell has gone on to establish a successful business career in property ­development. He also led the successful bid for the Gold Coast to host next year’s Commonwealth Games. The Queensland rich list in 2014 valued his family company, Stockwell, at $101 million, but he has also remained a passionate advocate for sport. He is regarded by some as a future contender for the AOC presidency. Mr Stockwell remains chairman of the Australian Sports Foundation, the body set up by the federal government to accept tax-deductible public donations to sports organisations.

He also chairs the Queensland Olympic Council’s fundraising committee.

Since he took the reins of the foundation in 2014 it has more than doubled the money it receives in public donations, from $17 million to $44m a year.

Most of the AOC’s public fundraising for the Rio Olympics was channelled through the foundation.

Mr Coates revealed this week that the origin of his feud with Mr Wylie was a decision by the ASC in 2015 to charge a 5 per cent commission on donations that passed through the ASF.