Sebastian Coe, the IOC presidency candidate, has supported Olympians call towards climate change, which has affected venues and athletes health, with extreme heat becoming a real concern during the Summer Olympic Games.
Among the Olympians who called for action were Australia’s most decorated Olympian, swimmer Emma McKeon and Cyrille Tchatchet II, a weightlifter who represented the refugee team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“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.
“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.
Los Angeles was hit by a deadly wildfire recently, with many coming to the fore, calling a change in venue.
“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.”
Seven candidates are vying for the IOC president role to replace Thomas Bach.
The 10th IOC President will be elected on Thursday, March 20 2025, during the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece.
The other candidates for the IOC election are: HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, David Lappartient, Johan Eliasch, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Kirsty Coventry, and Morinari Watanabe.