MILAN — International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry said Tuesday that the organization must focus on sport to maintain neutrality, as she opened the IOC Summit ahead of the Winter Olympics set to begin Friday.
Coventry said the Olympic Games and their values remain the IOC’s “greatest asset” and emphasized the need for the organization to concentrate on its core role as a sports body.
“We cannot be all things to all people,” Coventry told IOC members. “We understand politics and we know we don’t operate in a vacuum. But our game is sport. That means keeping sport a neutral ground, a place where every athlete can compete without being held back by the politics or divisions of their governments.”
Coventry, a 42-year-old former Olympic swimmer from Zimbabwe, has led a broad consultation on the future of the Olympic movement since her election in March last year. She has not publicly detailed her positions on political issues.
Her predecessor, Thomas Bach, expanded the IOC’s role to address matters such as environmental impact, human rights, competition integrity, and violence in sport. Coventry told members she has heard calls to refocus on the organization’s core mission.
One working group established in June is reviewing eligibility rules for women’s events involving transgender and intersex athletes.
Coventry said her priority is the future of the Olympic Games and the Olympic program to ensure the event continues to engage younger audiences.
“This means finding the right balance between tradition and innovation, between stability and flexibility,” she said. “It means we have to look at our sports, disciplines and events with fresh eyes to make sure that we are evolving with our times.”