SYDNEY (AP) " Former federal sports minister Mark Arbib has been selected over three female candidates to join the executive of the Australian Olympic Committee, filling a vacancy created by the retirement last month of vice-president Peter Montgomery. The selection of Arbib, the president of Athletics Australia, was announced Thursday. Other candidates included three-time Olympic gold medalist and ex-Australian field hockey captain Rechelle Hawkes, two-time Olympic equestrian gold medalist Gillian Rolton, and Cheryl Bart, a company director, lawyer and a board member of Australia's football federation. John Coates, president of the AOC and a vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said Arbib brought valuable experience. "He knows us as a former Minister for Sport and will be a great help in Canberra.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 13, 2016 03:00 UTC