Geneva (AP) – The impact of climate change on the global sports calendar will be a priority problem for Sebastian Coe if he wins the CIO presidential election, said the former runner on Friday
“If I succeed next week, it's very high in my game,” said Coe to journalists during an online call before the vote in Greece next Thursday, where he is one of the seven candidates to succeed the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach.
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Coe said it was “full square” with the 400 Olympic athletes who urged CIO candidates on Friday to treat climate change as a priority.
“There is for me an unmistakable need to have a really sensitive review of what the global calendar looks like,” said the double Olympic gold medalist, which directs the athletics of the athletics body.
There is A large consensus Among the candidates for the management of the Olympic organization to be more flexible in the planning of future summer matches and other international events while continuing to promote sustainable environmental policies.
The following summer Olympic Games will take place in July 2028 in Los Angeles, which was ravaged by fatal forest fires In January, although the Olympic sites were spared.
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“The reality is that our oceans The opportunity for the week to warm up, the climate warms up,” said Coe. “Artificial crises – whether fires, floods, anyway – cause major disturbances.”
Each 2004 summer game in Athens at 2032 in Brisbane, Australia, was scheduled for July and August, which is the first location for broadcasters, including NBC in the United States.
World Athletics has already seen how heat can affect athletes during its 2019 world championships in Doha, Qatar August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
The marathons of the Tokyo Olympic Games organized in 2021 were moved to Sapporo to avoid the type of extreme heat that was felt in Qatar even when The races took place around midnight.
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“It is not only a question of the Gulf or Africa, it is everywhere,” said Coe, who has already cited severe warmth in Los Angeles during the 1984 summer games where he retained his title of 1,500 meters.
Asked on Friday if the athletes and officials of the Olympic Games concerned would be listened to, Coe said: “I am not sure that none of our voices are heard at the moment.”
Coe, a former elected member of the British Parliament, suggested “there has been a lot of perspective” of governments around the world to try to achieve objectives to slow down the effects of climate change.
Summer Games 2036 – What mother company of NBC Comcast signed for Thursday As part of an agreement of $ 3 billion with the IOC – could probably be held outside of July and August.
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The 2036 host has not been selected, although the countries where Olympic officials are at the start of talks with the IOC include Qatar, Hungary and India.
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Olympic AP: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
