By Nick Butler

John Coates poses following his appointment as head of the Tokyo 2020 Coordination CommissionOctober 17 - John Coates, appointed yesterday to the role of chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020, has begun his seven year tenure by meeting the Japanese Ambassador to Australia Yoshitaka Akimoto in Sydney.


In what was Coates' first official act as head of what is set to be a high-profile role, Akimoto made the 188 mile journey from Australian capital Canberra within 24 hours of the appointment being made to add his congratulations.

Coates was appointed as head of the 15-strong Commission which will assist Tokyo 2020 over the next seven years by new IOC President Thomas Bach. 

It continues a good period for the Australian after he was made a vice-president of the IOC at the organisation's Session in Buenos Aires last month.

Coates is not lacking experience as he was involved in the delivery of the Sydney 2000 Games, worked on the Coordination Commission for London 2012 and is now involved with overseeing preparations for Rio 2016.

John Coates poses with the Japanese Ambassador in SydneyJohn Coates poses with the Japanese Ambassador Yoshitaka Akimoto in Sydney in his first duty as Coordination Commission Chairman


Coates spoke of his delight at the appointment and his plans to focus on providing for the athletes who will be competing in 2020.

"It is a great honour and great responsibility," he said.

"This is an opportunity for me personally to give something back from what I have learned previously and, in the case of Tokyo, help the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japanese Government.

"My emphasis has always been the athletes.

"You can't go wrong if your start and finish point is what's best for the athletes.

"If the Coordination Commission and the Tokyo Organising Committee remain focused on those elements a successful Games will follow."