FILE - Candidate to the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sebastian Coe speaks during a press conference following a presentation before their fellow IOC members in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan 30, 2025 (Fabrice Coffrini/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Firefighters watch a helicopter drop water on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
GENEVA (AP) — The impact of climate change on the global sports calendar will be a priority issue for Sebastian Coe if he wins the IOC's presidential election, the former runner said Friday
“If I’m successful next week that is very high in my in-tray,†Coe told reporters in an online call ahead of the vote in Greece next Thursday, where he is one of seven candidates to succeed IOC President Thomas Bach.
Coe said he stood “full square†with the 400 Olympic athletes who on Friday urged the IOC candidates to treat climate change as a priority.
“There is for me an unmistakable need to have a really sensible revisit of what the global calendar looks like,†said the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who leads track and field body World Athletics.
There is among the Olympic body’s leadership candidates to be more flexible in scheduling future Summer Games and other international events while continuing to promote
The next Summer Olympics are in July 2028 in Los Angeles, which was in January, though Olympic venues were spared.
“The reality of it is our oceans by the week are getting warmer, the climate is getting warmer,†Coe said. “Man-made crises — whether they are fires, floods, whatever it happens to be — are causing major disruptions.â€
Every Summer Games from 2004 in Athens through to 2032 in Brisbane, Australia have been scheduled in July and August, which is the prime slot for broadcasters, including NBC in the United States.
World Athletics has already seen how heat can affect athletes, at its 2019 world championships in Doha, Qatar held in late-September and in .
Marathons at the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021 were moved to Sapporo to avoid the kind of extreme heat that was experienced in Qatar even when
“That’s not just about the Gulf or Africa, it’s everywhere,†said Coe, who has previously cited severe heat in Los Angeles at the 1984 Summer Games where he retained his 1,500 meters title.
Asked Friday if the concerned Olympics athletes and officials would be listened to, Coe said: “I’m not sure any of our voices are being heard at this moment.â€
Coe, a former elected member of the British parliament, suggested “there has been a lot of backsliding†by governments worldwide in trying to meet targets to slow the effects of climate change.
The 2036 Summer Games — which NBC’s parent company as part of a $3 billion deal with the IOC — likely could be held outside of July and August.
The 2036 host has not been selected, though countries where Olympic officials are in early talks with the IOC include Qatar, Hungary and India.
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