Paralympic boss Kate McLoughlin wants to build ties with AOC

Paralympic boss Kate McLoughlin wants to keep building the relationship with the AOC, no matter who is president.

Australian Paralympic chef de mission Kate McLoughlin. Picture: Tim Hunter

Paralympic boss Kate McLoughlin wants to keep building the strong relationship with the Australian Olympic Committee, no matter who is AOC president after this weekend’s election.

McLoughlin was yesterday named as the Australian Paralympic team’s chef de mission for the Tokyo 2020 Games, appointed with full board approval from the Australian Paralympic Committee.

John Coates faces a vote of a different nature on Saturday as he battles rival Danni Roche to stay as AOC president in the three-year build-up to Japan.

“Absolutely whatever happens, we at the Paralympics want to see our relationship with the Olympic committee stay strong. We’d love to build on it and that makes sense. They do exactly the same thing we do,” McLoughlin said yesterday.

“We have the same roles in getting our athletes there. We already have a great relationship and there are so many advantages of working with the AOC. It doesn’t matter who is in charge. That relationship needs to continue.”

Australia’s Olympic chef de mission in Rio, Kitty Chiller, and McLoughlin had many hurdles to overcome in Rio.

Yet McLoughlin has re-committed herself to another Games more than three years ahead of time.

“Rio was a challenging Games but it was an amazing Games. I loved it,” she told The Australian yesterday.

“Someone said to me it’s just like childbirth. You forget things and you’re ready to go again.

“To be quite honest, there were some tough times in Brazil but I loved every minute of those Games.

“We had a great team and who wouldn’t want to work with Paralympic athletes? They are amazing human beings.

“To be able to continue what we created in Rio is really exciting for me.

“There is still a lot of potential for that team to be better than they were in Rio, not just from a performance point of view but from a culture.”

The 177 Australian athletes again maintained a top-five finish, winning 22 gold, 30 silver and 29 bronze medals.

What McLoughlin learned in Rio is that the whole team needs to buy into the type of culture and behaviour a Paralympic team wants to present.

“The reason it worked so well in Rio is that everyone got it; everyone bought in. Now I’ve got three years to make sure we’re even better at that.’’

Nominations close next month for the APC’s first athletes commission.