Coach competes in six Olympics

Press, 24 February 1988, Page 20

Coach competes in six Olympics

Colin Coates, the Australian speed-skating coach, made a surprising appearance in the 10,000 metres race at Olympic Oval, thus fulfilling an ambition to compete in six Winter Olympics. That is believed to be a record. Coates first competed at a Winter Games at Grenoble in 1968 and his best result was a sixth at Innsbruck in 1976. Now' aged 41, Coates scratched another team member and took part in the event in spite of previous denials that he would do so. There was to be no fairytale return to the track. He finished twentysixth in a field of 32, but did set an Australian record. © The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, more commonly known as the Mounties, have donned cross-country skis in a new move to catch lawbreakers. Half-a-dozen Mounties, all from Winnipeg, have formed an elite force at the Canmore Nordic Centre for the period of the Winter Olympics. A R4C.M.P. spokesman said that their primary

role was to make the Mountie uniform visible on the Canmore trails, thus deterring people who might "abuse the course,” whatever that might mean. ©lt never pays to cheer too loudly for the wrong sports team in the wrong place.

Patrons of a local bar in Canmore — an intriguing, little former mining town — were sadly sipping on their beers after watching Finland beat Canada, 3-1, in a televised Olympic ice hodkey game. In burst a large, depressingly cheerful fellow yelling “Finland! Finland!” at the top of his voice. Quickly realising his error, the Fin reached into his wallet, took out three S5O bills I and shouted the bar.