Colin Coates

Colin Victor Coates ( born April 4, 1946 in Richmond ) is an Australian former speed skater. With six appearances at the Olympic games, he is among the 19 athletes with the most appearances at the games. He is the Australians with the most appearances and next Emese Hunyadi 's most successful speed skaters on the number of participants.

Colin Coates competed for Globe Melbourne. He initially specialized in short and medium distances. In 1968 he started at the age of 21 years in Grenoble in his first Winter Olympic Games. About 500 meters he came on the 41, about 1500 meters on the 49th Place. It should remain Coates worst Olympic results. Four years later in Sapporo of Australians already occurred on four routes. Worst result was a 36th place over 500 meters, more than 1500 meters, it was 24, 23 over 5000 meters and 18th in the 10,000 meters. Most successful games were the 1976 Games of Innsbruck. Coates ran all five races and always reached the top 25 results. With a ranking of 25 was once again the 500 -meter result Worst result. The other results were far better. About 1000 meters was the Australian Eleventh, Tenth over 5000 meters, eight more than 1500 meters and on the long distance sixth. Coates now specialized in medium and especially long distance. But he could on the following games do not repeat the outstanding results. In Lake Placid in 1980 it reached number 29 over 1000 meters, was 19 over 5000 meters and 18th in the 10,000 meters. Coates fifth games were the competitions of Sarajevo in 1984. Than 1500 meters was the Australian 37, 25, 25 over 5000 meters and 20th in the 10,000 meters. After the games Coates ended his active career and became a coach. Before the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary in 1988, he ventured once again making a comeback in hopes to increase his personal best in the 10,000 meters. He traded places with his protégé Danny Kah, who acted for the race as his coach, and was 20 years after his first Olympic race at the age of 41 years 26 again in the 10,000 meters.

Between 1968 and 1984, Coates took part in 13 -round World Championships. Between 1973 and 1979, he could rely to seven times in a row in the top 15 place in 1974 his best result was even an eleventh place in the Big Four battle. The best score he reached the year before with 188.234 points. Less successful were the participations to the single distance world championships, where he never ran in the top 20. In the World Cup Coates came only sporadically, here was 15th place in a small World Cup 1979 in Örebro best result.