Asia Olympic leaders back idea to include Oceania athletes

DANANG, Vietnam (AP) — The Olympic Council of Asia has backed a proposal to allow athletes from Oceania to compete at the Asian Winter Games in Japan next year.

OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah said the executive board approved the idea and was waiting for acceptance from organizers in Sapporo, where the games will be staged in February.

"The athletes from Oceania would be competing as guests, under their flag, and their results would not be counted for medals, only for technical purposes," Sheikh Ahmad said after the OCA's general assembly in Danang, Vietnam on Sunday.

International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates, who heads the Australian Olympic Committee, made the…