Coates competed in six Winter Olympics, starting in 1968 at Grenoble, at age 21, before finishing at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, aged 41. He competed over 10,000m, 5000m, 1500m, 1000m and the 500m, for a best placing of 6th in the 10,000m in Innsbruck, Austria, during the 1976 Winter Olympics, this was also at the time, Australia's best ever placing in a Winter Olympics. He would finish his Olympic career in controversial circumstances, as although technically listed as an athlete for the 1988 Winter Olympics in the 10,000m, he was in reality a coach, with his athletic listing simply to make up numbers so that the Olympic team could take more support staff and also to allow Coates the ability to skate on the ice with the rest of the team during practice. He was told by Chef de MissionGeoff Henke that he was not to compete, due to the Australian Skating Union refusing to give their permission. After multiple denied requests by Coates, he gave the impression of having accepted his fate. He would instead take part in the event, without Henke's knowledge. Henke was furious and attempted to take him off the ice mid race. Henke instead decided to wait until Coates had finished. Coates would finish with an Australian Record time of 14:41.88, to place 26th out of 32. After being admonished by Henke, Coates received a telegram from then Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, congratulating him on a great performance at his sixth Olympic Games.
colin, coates, northern, ireland, international, footballer, footballer, colin, victor, coates, born, april, 1946, former, speed, skater, from, australia, represented, native, country, record, consecutive, winter, olympics, starting, 1968, grenoble, france, co. For the Northern Ireland international footballer see Colin Coates footballer Colin Victor Coates OAM born 4 April 1946 is a former ice speed skater from Australia who represented his native country in a record six consecutive Winter Olympics starting in 1968 in Grenoble France Colin Coates coaching Pascal Briand at the World Allround Championships in Hamar in 2009 Contents 1 Skating career 2 Achievements 3 Personal records 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksSkating career EditCoates competed in six Winter Olympics starting in 1968 at Grenoble at age 21 before finishing at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary Canada aged 41 He competed over 10 000m 5000m 1500m 1000m and the 500m for a best placing of 6th in the 10 000m in Innsbruck Austria during the 1976 Winter Olympics this was also at the time Australia s best ever placing in a Winter Olympics He would finish his Olympic career in controversial circumstances as although technically listed as an athlete for the 1988 Winter Olympics in the 10 000m he was in reality a coach with his athletic listing simply to make up numbers so that the Olympic team could take more support staff and also to allow Coates the ability to skate on the ice with the rest of the team during practice He was told by Chef de Mission Geoff Henke that he was not to compete due to the Australian Skating Union refusing to give their permission After multiple denied requests by Coates he gave the impression of having accepted his fate He would instead take part in the event without Henke s knowledge Henke was furious and attempted to take him off the ice mid race Henke instead decided to wait until Coates had finished Coates would finish with an Australian Record time of 14 41 88 to place 26th out of 32 After being admonished by Henke Coates received a telegram from then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke congratulating him on a great performance at his sixth Olympic Games Coates was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 1 and the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen s Birthday Honours 2 Achievements EditWorld Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men 13 participations 1968 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 1984 Best result 11th in 1974 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships for Men 7 participations 1972 1973 1974 1975 1978 1979 1980 Best result 21st in 1972Personal records EditPersonal recordsMen s Speed skatingEvent Result Date Location Notes500 m 40 14 1976 03 13 Inzell1 000 m 1 19 47 1976 03 13 Inzell1 500 m 2 00 79 1979 01 26 Davos5 000 m 7 12 95 1984 01 07 Inzell10 000 m 14 41 88 1988 02 21 CalgarySee also EditList of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic GamesReferences Edit Mr Colin Victor Coates It s an Honour Retrieved 13 June 2022 Mr Colin Victor Coates It s an Honour Retrieved 13 June 2022 External links EditSkateResults DESG nbsp This biographical article on a speed skater in Australia is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Colin Coates amp oldid 1159888408, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
