AOC President John Coates has been appointed to the IOC Co-ordination Commission for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Coates is one of two Australians on the 17-member panel which will oversee preparations for the Rio Games.

Greg Hartung, President of the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) is also part of the multinational team responsible for assisting the Rio Organising Committee.

Coates is currently a member of the London Co-ordination Commission as they prepare to host the Olympics in 2012.

The Rio Co-ordination Commission will be chaired by Ms Nawal El Moutawakel from Morocco. She was a gold medal winner in the 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and has been a member of the IOC since 1998.

She is a former Minister for Youth and Sport in Morocco and is the first woman to chair the IOC Co-ordination Commission.

"I am delighted to have been named as Chair of the Commission and am confident our team will help Rio deliver a memorable Summer Games in 2016," she said.

"Having chaired the Evaluation Committee for the 2016 Games, I have first-hand knowledge of the many strengths that Rio and Brazil have to offer, and together we will strive to showcase that to the world in six years’ time."

The members of the Commission represent the many stakeholders of the Olympic Movement, including the athletes, the National Olympic Committees, and International Sports Federations. The Commission act as a link between them, the Organising Committee and other Olympic Family stakeholders, thereby ensuring the coordination necessary to help deliver a successful Olympic Games.

The members of the 2016 Rio Co-ordination Commission are as follows:

Chair
Nawal EL MOUTAWAKEL (MAR)

Executive Director for the Commission
Gilbert FELLI (SUI) IOC Olympic Games Executive Director

Members (in alphabetical order)
Beatrice ALLEN (GAM)
Sergey BUBKA (UKR)
Richard L. CARRIÓN (PUR)
John D. COATES, AC (AUS)
Timothy Tsun Ting FOK (HKG)
Alex GILADY (ISR)
Greg HARTUNG (AUS)
Patrick Joseph HICKEY (IRL)
Nicole HOEVERTSZ (ARU)
Nat INDRAPANA (THA)
Willi KALTSCHMITT LUJÁN (GUA)
Gunilla LINDBERG (SWE)
Julio César MAGLIONE (URU)
Alexander POPOV (RUS)
Francesco RICCI BITTI (ITA)
Ching-Kuo WU (TPE)