John Coates and Olympic stars fall out

The battle for control of the AOC has intensified, after president John Coates cut adrift top Olympic stars.

The battle for control of the Australian Olympic Committee has intensified, after president John Coates cut adrift top Olympic stars ahead of next month’s ­election.

Mr Coates, a veteran sports administrator and AOC president for the past 26 years, has taken the unusual step of forming a ticket of seven preferred board members should he win the May 6 election.

But he notably omitted two current board members, swimmer Nicole ­Livingstone and canoeist Danielle Woodward, Melbourne’s Herald Sun reports today.

Also reportedly out of favour are hockey great Rechelle ­Hawkes, one of only two ­Australian women to win ­Olympic gold at three separate Games, and champion diver ­Michael Murphy.

Mr Coates faces a mounting threat from presidency candidate Danni Roche, a gold medal-­winning hockey player.

An Olympic administrator told the Herald Sun that Mr Coates was “under challenge for the first time in 27 years and doesn’t like it”.

In a move described as “cynical and farcical”, Mr Coates has formed a ticket of seven preferred board members, from a wide range of Olympic sports: pentathlete Kitty Chiller, athletics administrator Mark Arbib, sailing champion Matt Allen, volleyball player Craig Carracher, cyclist Tracey Gaudry, baseball athlete David Hynes and fencer Evelyn Halls.

It is understood that several of those candidates, ­including Allen and Gaudry, may not back Mr Coates in the ballot for the presidency.

Ms Roche, who continues to gain popularity as the race to the finish line draws closer, pledged an extra $3 million for underfunded Olympic sports.

It is understood she will not be forming a ticket for the vote.

Ms Roche wrote to 15 struggling federations at the weekend, promising to use the money saved from her opponent’s $750,000 consultancy fee to help boost their funding.