Cross-Country Running at Winter Olympics

Sebastian Coe has an exciting plan for the Winter Olympics. He is the president of World Athletics and wants to add cross-country running to the Winter Games starting in 2030.

Coe has talked about this idea for a long time. He believes cross-country running should be in the Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030, or maybe in Salt Lake City four years later.

This idea can help many countries. Right now, most Winter Olympic sports are good for countries with snow and ice. Countries in Africa usually cannot compete well in these sports. But African runners are some of the best in the world at cross-country running. Adding this sport would let more African nations compete in the Winter Olympics.

Coe said, "Winter Games aren't African. It doesn't scream African. So I think it was a good opportunity."

Cross-country running was actually in the Olympics before. It was a Summer Olympic sport until 1924. It was removed after the Paris Games because the weather was too hot. Many runners became extremely tired and sick from the heat. Moving it to the Winter Olympics would solve this problem because the weather would be much cooler.

The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, likes to try new ideas. Coe is happy about this. He told The Associated Press that Coventry wants everyone to work together to improve the Olympics. She has "blown some oxygen into the organization," he said.

To add cross-country running to the Winter Olympics, the Olympic Charter needs a small change. The rule would say that sports practiced in winter can be in the Winter Games program.

Coe also talked about other running events. Track and field will move to the first week of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. A new world treadmill championship called RUN X will start next year. There will also be an Ultimate Championships in Budapest next September.

Coe has good memories of Los Angeles. He won a gold medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1984 Olympics there. He thinks the 2028 Games will be amazing.

All these changes show that Coe wants to make running sports more popular and include more countries from around the world.