JOHN COATES AC (AUS) STEPS DOWN AS PRESIDENT OF THE ICAS AND OF THE CAS AFTER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE

JOHN COATES AC (AUS) STEPS DOWN AS PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (ICAS) AND OF THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT (CAS) AFTER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE

MICHAEL LENARD OLY (USA) BECOMES ACTING PRESIDENT

Lausanne, 29 September 2025 – Mr John Coates AC (Australia), 75, has announced his decision to step down as President of ICAS and CAS with immediate effect for health reasons. Mr Coates has been a member of ICAS since its creation in 1994 and became the third President in 2010. He was re-elected, unopposed, in 2015, 2019 and 2023.

Mr Coates indicated that, after completing 6-months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, his current health did not allow for international travel. He emphasizes it is the right moment for him to leave the institution and thanks Mr Michael Lenard OLY, senior ICAS Vice-President, his ICAS colleagues, Mr Matthieu Reeb, CAS Director General, and staff at the CAS Court Office. In his resignation letter, he added “Thanks to the contributions and support of our ICAS colleagues and CAS staff, the quality of our arbitrators and the stakeholders’ respect for our independence, the institution I am leaving has never been stronger.”
Mr Coates has overseen ICAS and CAS through a period of impressive growth. Since he took his function as President, CAS has tripled the number of procedures registered per year (304 in 2010, 917 in 2024) and its number of employees at the CAS Court office (18 in 2010 and 61 in 2024). The ICAS budget has increased by CHF 20 million (CHF 4 million in 2010).
In accordance with ICAS Statutes (Article S6), Mr Michael Lenard, ICAS senior Vice-President, shall exercise the functions and responsibilities of the President until an election. The next presidential election is scheduled for May 2027, unless ICAS decides to hold one earlier.

Mr Lenard said “It is a great honour for me to take over the ICAS Presidency. I look forward to ensuring, with the support of my colleagues, that the success story of ICAS and CAS continues. On behalf of ICAS and CAS, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to John Coates for his outstanding leadership during his 15 years of presidency; I wish him a prompt recovery and good health”.

Biographies and about ICAS
John Coates, lawyer, was President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), Council member of the World Rowing Federation (FISA), Senior Vice-President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Sydney in 2000 (SOCOG) and Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (Executive Board Member 2009-2012; Vice-President (2013-2017 and 2020-2024)). He is currently a Member of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Brisbane 2032 (2022-).
Mr Michael Lenard OLY is a lawyer and a former Partner in the international law firm of Latham & Watkins; he was also Vice-President and member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC); he was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Organizing Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and, as an athlete, he was a member of the United States Olympic Team of Handball in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Mr Lenard has been a member of ICAS since its creation in 1994 and has held the position of Vice-President since 2010.

The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) is the administrative and financial authority that CAS operates under. It works to safeguard CAS’ independence, and the rights of Parties involved in CAS proceedings.
Created in 1994, its 22 members represent the Olympic movement, sports federations, athletes, including five former Olympians, and the legal sector. The ICAS Board members are Michael Lenard (Acting President), Elisabeth Steiner (Austria), Antonio Arimany (Spain) (ICAS Vice Presidents), Ms Carole Malinvaud (France) (Ordinary Division President) and Ms Corinne Schmidhauser (Switzerland) (Appeal Division President).

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is an independent organisation that resolves sports disputes worldwide. Established in 1984, CAS has tailored procedural rules to render impartial decisions through arbitration and mediation. Sporting bodies and athletes assign CAS the judicial authority to uphold an equal and just application of sporting regulations.