Ian Chesterman succeeds John Coates as AOC president

Ian Chesterman has been elected to lead the Australian Olympic Committee for the next three years after being voted in as president, replacing John Coates who exited the role after 32 years.

AOC vice president Chesterman convincingly defeated triple Olympic medallist Mark Stockwell 67-26 in a vote of AOC delegates at Saturday’s annual general meeting in Sydney.

Chesterman’s election is viewed as a sign of continuity with the 63-year-old having served as AOC vice-president and chef de mission for six Winter Olympic teams before filling the same role at the Tokyo Games.

After the vote, Chesterman advised that “the clear priority is more funding into sport. We have to continue to drive the interest in Olympic sports.”

Chesterman noted that the 43 sports represented within the Olympic movement provided a range that meant there was “something for everybody,” and the sports, which range from large self-sustaining organisations to smaller volunteer bodies, needed to be able to compete for the interest of Australian children.

Chesterman added “we really need to use this opportunity going forward to Brisbane [2032 Olympics] having built a fantastic platform in Tokyo, to drive our Olympic sports, to encourage kids to dream, not about becoming an AFL player or an NRL player, but becoming an Olympian.”

Chesterman’s appointment brings to an end John Coates’ tenure which IOC president Thomas Bach described as unparalleled noting that no other Olympic official had ever delivered two Games to their home nation - Coates delivered the 2000 Olympics to Sydney, before bowing out with the awarding of the 2032 Games to Brisbane.

ASC Chair Josephine Sukkar welcomed the appointment of Chesterman as new AOC President and noted "the recent Tokyo and Beijing Games were a triumph and in the next decade we have a wonderful opportunity to build on this momentum. Australian sport is working closer together as part of the National High Performance Sport Strategy. We look forward to continuing to work with the AOC as we drive a collective vision for sport in Australia and build sustainable success on the road to the 2032 Brisbane Games and beyond."

Coates used his final address to the annual meeting to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, announcing the AOC would support Ukrainian athletes seeking to resettle in Australia on humanitarian visas. Coates advised that the AOC would contribute $100,000 to the International Olympic Committee’s solidarity fund for the Ukrainian Olympic community.

Image courtesy Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC)