India’s push toward winning the 2036 Olympics hosting contest seemed to stall a little on Thursday in the first big decision of Kirsty Coventry’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency.
Coventry paused the fast tracking of a preferred bidder — a signature policy of her predecessor and mentor Thomas Bach — in a concession to IOC members who have wanted more say in decisions under new leadership.
“Members want to be engaged more in the process” of picking Olympic hosts, Coventry said, citing “overwhelming support” at meetings this week to stop and review how it is done and when.
Photo: AFP
India has been seen as gaining momentum in the 2036 race that involves at least 10 bidders in talks including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Istanbul in Turkey.
In her third full day in office, Coventry promised to create two working groups — to look at how hosts are chosen, and a second analyzing how to “protect the female category” after controversy in women’s boxing at the Paris Olympics last year.
OLYMPICS
The two-time Olympic champion swimmer also restated a principled vision ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in the city of Los Angeles, which US President Donald Trump this month called “a trash heap.”
“We see the best of humanity, we see compassion for others” in Olympic values, Coventry said at a news conference after chairing her first executive board meeting over two days.
“If we can celebrate in the diversity that we are, and that we have, we can really work towards creating something great,” the former sports minister of Zimbabwe said, pledging to try to inspire young people.
Olympic officials from LA met with Coventry’s board on Wednesday and promised a “unity of effort” in the city where the Trump administration deployed military forces after street protests against immigration raids.
“There is so much goodwill from all levels of government,” including federal, Coventry said.
“That gives us faith,” she said, adding that a platform for the Olympics “will be there for us to ensure that our values are stuck to but that our values will also be heard.”
DECISION ON 2036
After Los Angeles in 2028, the 2032 Summer Games would go to Brisbane, which was picked 11 years ahead of time in the most secretive of modern hosting decisions.
Bach aimed to avoid expensive bid campaigns and contested votes that could lead to negative headlines: rejection by local voters or allegations of vote buying.
Instead, the IOC administration talked discreetly with potential hosts with no set timetable to deal exclusively with a bid well-connected in Olympic circles.
Under this system, an India bid for 2036 promoted by influential IOC member Nita Ambani, from the family that is the richest in Asia, has looked strong.
However, Coventry’s strongest opponents in a seven-candidate election she won in March promised to consult more with their 100-plus IOC colleagues than was the case during Bach’s tightly controlled 12-year presidency.
Her presidency started on Tuesday in closed-door sessions with more than 70 IOC members in Lausanne. The result is a reset for the 2036 contest.
Still, Coventry said that a bid team from India would continue to make a scheduled visit to the IOC next week.
ATHLETICS ELECTION
Olympic gold medalists are among 11 candidates for two vacancies to be IOC members when athletes vote at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics in February next year.
Chinese pairs figure skater Cong Han, Canadian ski cross racer Marielle Thompson, Ukrainian aerials skier Oleksandr Abramenko and Swiss cross-country skier Dario Cologna would be on the ballot.
The two winners would be IOC members for eight years through the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Games.
LONDON MEDALS
American 1,500-meter runner Shannon Rowbury was formally confirmed as the bronze medalist from the 2012 London Olympics nearly 13 years later.
The IOC reallocated the medals to take account of a doping ban for Tatyana Tomashova imposed in September last year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Rowbury crossed the line in sixth place in London in a race notoriously tainted by doping cases for the runners who placed first, second and fourth. Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia was upgraded to silver on Thursday. The gold medal was previously awarded to Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain.
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
The Canterbury Crusaders edged the Waikato Chiefs 16-12 in an intense Super Rugby Pacific final battle in Christchurch yesterday to claim their 15th title in 30 years of the Southern Hemisphere competition. Hooker Codie Taylor scored a try and Rivez Reihana contributed 11 points from the kicking tee as the most dominant team in Super Rugby history extended their perfect home playoff record to 32 successive matches since 1998. The Chiefs, who were looking for a first title since 2013, scored first-half tries through George Dyer and Shaun Stevenson, but were unable to register a point after the break and fell to
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
RSS