But Legana’s Ian Chesterman is confident that he and fellow vice-president Helen Brownlee can help re-elected president John Coates get the nation’s Olympic movement back on track. 

“It’s been a fairly bruising campaign in the lead-up to these elections and the key thing now is to reconnect with what the Olympics are all about and that’s giving young Australians the chance to fulfil their dreams,” Chesterman said.

“What we need now is for everybody to get the politics off the front pages and focus on athletes on the back pages.”

Asked if he thought the AOC had been damaged by the high-profile challenge to Coates’ 27-year reign, Chesterman replied: “No doubt. With the focus being on the politics of sport rather than the athletes there has been some damage to the brand.

“It’s been a brutal campaign against John Coates and I’m delighted he’s got back in because I think he’s got the experience that the Olympic committee needs.”

An AOC board member for 16 years, Chesterman was re-elected for another four-year term as vice-president at the annual meeting in Sydney and will also serve as Australia’s Winter Olympic chef de mission for the sixth time in the Korean city of Pyeongchang in 2018.

With the 2022 winter Games in Beijing and 2020 summer in Tokyo, Chesterman is excited about Australia’s Olympic future.

“The next three Games are in Asia in a similar time zone to us, these are exciting times not only for our athletes but in terms of commercial opportunities for the Olympic committee which provides the lifeblood to run good teams,” he said.

“I am looking forward to being more engaged in the summer program at a great time for the sport because Tokyo will put on a fantastic Games and there are strong bids coming up from Los Angeles and Paris for 2024.

“People got a bit scared after Russia spent so much money on Sochi but the IOC’s agenda for 2020 and beyond is an increased emphasis on legacy and benefitting the community going forward so there are no white elephants left behind.”

The 58-year-old father-of-three, who is also community relations director for Scotch Oakburn College, believes Saturday’s elections can begin a new era for elite Australian sport. 

“One of the things that needs to be corrected is what real impact the AOC can have in producing medal-winning performances at Olympic Games.

“The key people that have responsibility for funding programs is the Australian Sports Commission so word coming out of Canberra that there may be an increase in their sports budget is important because without that we won’t have success. You need money to run programs, to provide the best facilities, coaches and support.

“What the AOC has to do is provide the best possible environment for athletes once they are at Olympic Games in order for them to produce their best performances.”