Coates Appreciates Sheikh Ahmad Invitation to Asian Winter Games

8th Asian Winter Games Coverage Proudly Sponsored by the Olympic Council of Asia

(ATR) Australian athletes are taking to the ice and snow thanks to an invitation by the Olympic Council of Asia to compete at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo.

Australian NOC president John Coates had asked OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah if his country could participate. Ahmad granted the request, allowing Australia and fellow Oceania nation New Zealand to send athletes to Sapporo. The Games opened Sunday night.

"I’ve always been keen to get us into more competitions in Asia," the IOC vice-president tells Around the Rings at the Makomanai short track speed skating rink on day one of competition. "To get in here as a guest just gives us more competition and we’ve been warmly welcomed and very well received."

"We don’t have competition in Oceania with winter sports, but we are doing very well in moguls and aerials – we’ve won lots of medals this year," he said.

Australia and New Zealand are not eligible to win medals at the AWG, but will gain invaluable experience competing against top-level Asian athletes, particularly in the skating events. Thirty Australian athletes are in Sapporo, including six in short track speed skating.

Short track speed skater Deanna Helen Lockett, 21, was the flag bearer for the Australian delegation at Sunday night’s opening ceremony.

"Asia is very strong in short track, so it’s a big honor to race here amongst all the best," said Lockett, who also competed at Sochi 2014. "It was also great to be at the ceremony, so we can kind of prepare for the Olympics that way as well."

The Australia and Asia cooperationis not unprecedented. Australia competed at the 2001 East Asian Games in Osaka. Returning the favor, Australia invited Japan and other Asian countries to participate in the Australian Youth Olympic Festival following the 2000 Sydney Games. Australian athletes have also trained and collaborated with Japan and Korea in select sports.

"Being in Australia we’re kind of remote to the other countries and we don’t really have anything around, so it’s good to be a part of these Games," said short track speed skater Pierre Boda.

"It’sbasically like a World Cup without North America and Europe," he added. "It’s exciting to have another major competition on our schedule."

Coates says the AWG are a golden opportunity for developing Australian winter sports, especially with the next two Winter Olympics on Asian soil in Korea and China.

"The athletes here are the next group coming through – some of the short trackers will be in PyeongChang, but in other sports they’re looking towards Beijing," Coates said.

Coates said Australian winter athletes will only get stronger in events like ski and snowboard halfpipe, aerials and moguls. Aussies won two silver and one bronze medal at Sochi 2014 – in freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

At PyeongChang 2018, Coates believes Australian athletes have the potential for an unprecedented medal haul.

"I think we’ve had 11 different athletes win World Cup medals this year," Coates said. "The most medals (at an Olympics) we’ve ever won was two gold and a silver, but maybe we can creep up and get four or five medals this time."

Reported in Sapporo by Brian Pinelli

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