Phil Coles Obituary

Phil Coles AM was a sprint canoer and Australian sports administrator. Phil Coles died on Saturday, January 28 2023, after a brief illness according to the Australian Olympic Committee. He was 91.

On his death, IOC President Thomas Bach remarked “He was key to getting an Australian Olympic team to the Olympic Games Moscow 1980 against all requests for a boycott. It made him proud for the rest of his life to have led these athletes into the Olympic Stadium. His love for the Olympic Games was at the centre of his life.”

Former AOC President John Coates stated “The athletes of Australia have lost one of their true champions and the AOC one of its strongest leaders. It was Phil who was key to our participation in Moscow 1980 and notwithstanding intense personal and public abuse.”

“It was this participation by the Australian Olympic Team against the wishes of the then Prime Minister and Australian Government that once and for all emphasized the independence of the Australian Olympic Committee.”

Phil Coles competed in the Olympics in 1960 Rome, 1964 Tokyo, and 1968 Mexico City, finishing ninth in the K-4 1000 m event at the Tokyo games, where he was also the team captain.

In the 1983 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for “service to sport,” and he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1993.