PRESIDENT OF AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE WALKS OUT OF SYDNEY MEDIA CONFERENCE, 1998-11-25 (photo)

President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates walks out of a media conference in Sydney November 25. In front of Coates are newspapers carrying headlines about the resignation on Tuesday of Rod McGeoch from the board of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). Coates said he did not understand why McGeoch had quit but added it would not affect preperations for the games. McGeoch, who spearheaded the bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games and was credited with beating Beijing when the International Olympic Committee awarded Sydney the games five years ago, said he was resigning because of a "campaign of destabilisation" against him. DG/JJ/KM