Sebastian Coe Champions Winter Olympics Cross-Country Bid

Sebastian Coe is seizing what he sees as a unique opportunity to reshape the Winter Olympics. The World Athletics president is pushing hard to have cross-country running included in the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps, or alternatively at the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City, arguing that such a move would significantly enhance global participation in winter sports.

The timing of Coe's campaign appears strategic. The recent appointment of Kirsty Coventry as IOC president has ushered in what Coe describes as a more collaborative and innovative atmosphere within the Olympic movement. In an interview with The Associated Press, Coe praised the new leadership approach. "The new president is clear they want to put everything on the table at the moment," he explained. "It's a very different atmosphere. It's very much how can we improve together rather than we'll tell you how to do it. She's blown some oxygen into the organization."

The proposal addresses a longstanding imbalance in Olympic representation. The Winter Games have traditionally been dominated by nations with extensive winter sports infrastructure and cold climates, effectively excluding much of the developing world. African nations in particular have found few opportunities to compete at Winter Olympics. Yet African athletes have consistently excelled in distance running events at Summer Games, suggesting they would be formidable competitors in winter cross-country competitions.

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

Cross-country running has Olympic precedent, albeit in a different season. The event featured in the Summer Olympics until 1924, when it was removed following the Paris Games. That year, brutal heat combined with a challenging course caused severe exhaustion among competitors, prompting Olympic organizers to drop the event for safety reasons. Relocating it to the Winter Olympics would resolve these historical concerns while reviving an authentic Olympic tradition.

The path to implementation requires an Olympic Charter amendment, though Coe suggests this would be relatively straightforward. The change would simply establish that sports practiced during winter months are eligible for inclusion in the Winter Games program. Coe's membership on the IOC's new Olympic program working group positions him advantageously to advance this proposal. The working group is tasked with examining fundamental questions about Olympic structure, including how sports are added or removed and whether traditional seasonal boundaries between Summer and Winter Games should remain rigid.

While focused on winter sport expansion, Coe also discussed developments for summer athletics. Track and field will open the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, moving to the Games' first week. Coe strongly supports this scheduling change, believing athletics deserves a prominent early slot. His connection to Los Angeles is personal: he won the 1,500-meter gold medal at the 1984 Games there, setting an Olympic record. He credits those Games, organized by Peter Ueberroth, with pioneering modern Olympic practices in broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and venue sustainability.

World Athletics is simultaneously launching innovative competitions. RUN X will establish a world treadmill championship featuring qualifying 5K races leading to a championship final. The Ultimate Championships, debuting in Budapest from September 11-13, will compress elite competition into three evening sessions, with only semifinals and finals in track events and eight competitors per field event. Coe described it candidly: "It's a world championship in three days, three hours a night, unashamedly aimed at TV."

These initiatives reflect Coe's broader ambition to expand athletics' global reach and make the sport more engaging for modern audiences while maintaining its competitive integrity.