AOC president John Coates has taken aim at the attitude of sporting administrators - not athletes - for Australia's disappointing medal haul at the London Olympics.

Australia's return of 35 medals, including just seven gold, is its worst since the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 when it came home with 27 medals, including seven gold.



While the likes of former swimmer Susie O'Neill and marathon legend Robert de Castella have questioned the work ethic and commitment of our athletes, Coates laid the blame squarely at the feet of administrators.



"I wouldn't point the finger at any athletes in terms of attitude. I can't do that," Coates said. "But I leave a question mark on whether the attitude or ownership is as good as it could be in the management of some of the sports. I haven't lost the hunger for Australia to do well in Rio. Our objective again will be top five. The Australian Olympic Committee hasn't lost the hunger."



While Australia will finish with the same number of medals the Olympic committee had benchmarked in the lead-up to London, its seven gold medals falls dramatically short of the 15 they had anticipated based on 2011 world championship results.



Speaking on the final day of the Olympics, Coates maintained his line that funding wasn't the reason for failing to reach expectations.



He revealed he had been so concerned about the attitude of some administrators that he wrote to presidents and chairmen of individual sports 18 months ago.



"The sports have to look at themselves rather than look at the funding," Coates said. "I was concerned about 18 months before these Games whether the sports themselves, the presidents and their executives, were taking enough ownership. I know the executives and chairmen in some sports know every result internationally. I get phonecalls and we tick-tack.



"But there are others that are just allowing it to happen, relying on high-performance managers. Im not going to be specific here. But it has to come from the top. Any corporation is only as good as its CEO or chairman, and the direction that is coming from there.



"I got letters back from all but one of (the sports) saying, We think we can do this. What I was doing was trying to make sure they knew their neck wasn't on the line but they had to take some ownership. They're largely being very, very well funded by the Australian Sports Commission. With that comes the responsibility of delivering."



Coates also called on the AIS and high-performance units across all Olympic disciplines to search for an edge between now and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.



Asked what the difference had been between silver and gold, Coates said: "There's something there, I don't know what it is, but I want to find out. I want those who are technical people who are involved in coaching to find out and let us know. Not that we'll let the rest of the world know, as might have happened in the past. Well find out and put it to good use."