Coe Leverages IOC Leadership Change for Winter Cross-Country Push

Sebastian Coe is navigating a pivotal moment in Olympic politics, using improved relations with the International Olympic Committee to advance a proposal that could fundamentally alter the Winter Games' geographic and demographic profile. The World Athletics president is making a concerted push to have cross-country running included in either the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps or the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City, framing the initiative as both a return to Olympic tradition and a necessary step toward greater global inclusivity.

The campaign's timing reflects careful political calculation. Kirsty Coventry's recent ascension to the IOC presidency has, according to Coe, created an unprecedented openness to structural reform within the Olympic movement. In an interview with The Associated Press conducted during his visit to New York for the city's marathon, Coe characterized the new leadership dynamic in strikingly positive terms. "The new president is clear they want to put everything on the table at the moment," he observed. "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."

This diplomatic language masks what has historically been a sometimes contentious relationship between international sports federations and the IOC. Coe's enthusiasm for Coventry's collaborative approach suggests he perceives a genuine shift away from the more top-down governance style that has occasionally characterized Olympic administration. For Coe, who has long advocated for cross-country running's Olympic inclusion, this represents a potentially decisive opening.

The proposal addresses what Coe views as an inherent inequity in the current Winter Games structure. Olympic winter sports have traditionally privileged nations with specific geographic and economic advantages: cold climates, mountainous terrain, and the substantial infrastructure investment required for sports like skiing, bobsled, and ice hockey. This naturally concentrates Winter Olympic success among a relatively small group of predominantly wealthy, northern hemisphere nations. The entire African continent, despite its population of over 1.4 billion people, remains largely excluded from meaningful Winter Games participation.

Yet African athletes have demonstrated extraordinary excellence in distance running events at Summer Olympics, consistently dominating middle and long-distance races. This suggests that in disciplines requiring primarily aerobic endurance rather than specialized winter sports facilities, African nations could compete at the highest level. Cross-country running, which demands exactly these qualities while being entirely feasible in winter conditions, represents an ideal bridge sport.

Coe made this argument explicitly, if somewhat inelegantly. "Winter Games aren't African. It doesn't scream African," he said. "So I think it was a good opportunity." The comment reflects a pragmatic acknowledgment of current realities while proposing a mechanism for change. By introducing a sport where African athletes already possess world-leading capabilities, the Winter Olympics could genuinely become a more globally representative event rather than remaining the preserve of a select group of nations.

The historical precedent for Olympic cross-country running strengthens Coe's case. The sport was indeed part of the Olympic program from 1912 through 1924, appearing exclusively at Summer Games. Its removal followed the infamous 1924 Paris Olympics, where extreme heat combined with a punishing course produced scenes of severe distress among competitors. Contemporary accounts describe runners collapsing from heat exhaustion, with several requiring medical intervention. Concerned about athlete welfare, Olympic organizers dropped the event entirely.

This history, rather than undermining the current proposal, actually supports it. The fundamental problem with Olympic cross-country running was environmental, not intrinsic to the sport itself. Contested in winter conditions, these concerns would be alleviated if not eliminated entirely. Coe's proposal thus represents not innovation but restoration, reintroducing an authentic Olympic sport in conditions far more appropriate for its safe conduct.

Implementation would require an Olympic Charter amendment, though Coe characterizes this as relatively uncomplicated. The revision would establish that sports practiced during winter months are eligible for Winter Games inclusion. While any Charter amendment involves procedural complexity, Coe's position on the IOC's newly formed Olympic program working group provides him with significant influence over precisely these questions. The working group has been charged with examining fundamental aspects of Olympic structure: Games size, mechanisms for adding or removing sports, and whether the traditional sharp distinction between Summer and Winter Olympic sports should persist in its current form.

This institutional position gives Coe more than just a platform for advocacy. As a working group member, he participates directly in the deliberative process that will shape recommendations to the full IOC. His proposal for cross-country running can thus be embedded within broader discussions about Olympic evolution and inclusivity, potentially gathering momentum as part of a larger reform package rather than standing as an isolated request.

Beyond winter sports expansion, Coe discussed several other athletic initiatives. Track and field will move to the opening week of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a scheduling change Coe strongly endorses. His enthusiasm for Los Angeles is partly nostalgic; he won the 1,500-meter gold medal at the 1984 Games there, setting an Olympic record. But he also credits those Games, organized by Peter Ueberroth, with pioneering modern Olympic economics through innovative approaches to broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and venue sustainability.

World Athletics is simultaneously pursuing format innovation. The organization announced RUN X, a world treadmill championship featuring qualifying 5K races culminating in a championship final late next year. More significantly, the Ultimate Championships will debut in Budapest from September 11-13, condensing world-class competition into three evening sessions explicitly designed for television. Coe was characteristically direct about the format's purpose: "It's a world championship in three days, three hours a night, unashamedly aimed at TV."

These various initiatives reveal Coe's governing philosophy: athletics must evolve to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive sports entertainment landscape while simultaneously expanding its geographic reach and deepening its global participant base. The cross-country running proposal embodies both imperatives, offering a pathway for the Winter Olympics to become genuinely worldwide while reviving an event with authentic Olympic heritage.

Whether Coe's proposal succeeds remains uncertain, dependent on complex IOC internal politics and the receptiveness of Winter Olympic stakeholders. But his strategic timing, institutional positioning, and the inherent logic of his inclusivity argument suggest this may represent the most serious opportunity for structural Winter Games reform in decades.