The incoming president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, said in an interview with Sky News that she will not ban countries from the Olympics due to international conflicts and will open talks on a possible return of russia to the Olympics.
"I think you have to take each situation into account. What I would like to do is set up a taskforce where this taskforce tries to set out some policies and some guiding frameworks that we as the movement can use to make decisions when we are brought into conflicts," she said.
Coventry said she thought it was hypocritical to eliminate countries due to international conflicts when countries in Africa, the continent she comes from, are facing similar tensions.
"So there's a fine balance. But ultimately I believe that it's best for our movement to ensure that we have all athletes represented," she said.
It is not yet clear whether this means russia will return to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. "We're going to have that discussion with a collective group …with the taskforce," Coventry said.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.