Will Australia be buying Team GB Champers in 2012?
04 Nov 2009
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) President has bet his British counterpart, British Olympic Association (BOA) Chairman Lord Colin Moynihan, a bottle of champagne for every medal separating Australia and Britain in their private duel at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Coates who was recently elected to one of the 15 seats at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board, has a track record of success in most things he sets his mind to, however this might not be enough to win his wager with Lord Moynihan as numbers are currently stacking up against him.
Since peaking with 58 medals in Sydney, Australia's tally has slipped to 49 in Athens and 46 in Beijing, and the AOC estimates it would win just 38 if a summer Games were held right now.
Great Britain, meanwhile, has roared up the table from 10th in Sydney and Athens to fourth in Beijing, and is investing a substantial amount on its athletes for its home Games in 2012.
Australia did the same and it paid off, with the Sydney medal tally soaring by almost 50 per cent from the 41 medals won in Atlanta four years earlier.
Britain is spending more than £736 million on its athletes over the four years leading up to the London Games. Whilst, Australia is spending less than half of that, around £333 million.
"There is a direct relationship between funding and results," says Coates, who has pressed the government for an extra £61 million a year for the next decade to maintain Australia's Olympic standing.
To finish in the top five Coates believes that Australia would need to win at least 55 medals, he also predicts that Britain will secure more than 60.
So even by his own optimistic figures, he might find himself buying Lord Moynihan's bubbly.
* Figures based on conversion of AUD to GBP in FT 31st October
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