ROME (AP) — For her first Olympics as IOC president, Kirsty Coventry could probably order up a helicopter if she so desired to get from one far-flung venue to another at the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games.
After all, with sports clusters dotted across northern Italy covering an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles), the 2026 Games will be the most widespread Winter Olympics ever.
Yet Coventry — the first woman and first African (she’s from Zimbabwe) elected to one of the most powerful jobs in world sports — will stick to more conventional travel methods.
“We will be going by car or bus or however the transport is used,” Coventry told The Associated Press on Friday after attending a cauldron ceremony at the presidential palace. in the Italian capital.
The Feb. 6-22 Games venue plan includes: skating sports in Milan; freestyle and snowboarding in Livigno; men’s Alpine skiing and ski mountaineering in Bormio; Nordic sports in Val di Fiemme; biathlon in Anterselva; and women’s Alpine skiing, curling and sliding in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Coventry hopes to see them all.
“We are going to do our best and I think right now where we are in the program in the agenda, yes, that’s the plan,” she said.
While parts of the controversial sliding venue in Cortina and the main hockey arena are still not ready, Coventry voiced no concern about the local organizing committee’s preparations for the Games with two months to go before the opening ceremony.
“We’re working really well and very closely with the organizing committee and with the whole team here,” she said. “So we’re very happy with the progression and everything that we see and we’re getting excited for the next few weeks.”
Also Friday, the draw for the World Cup soccer tournament was being held in Washington amid a backdrop to President Donald Trump expanding restrictions on travel to the United States and hardening his rhetoric against immigrants.
Two years after the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. will host the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and Coventry has not yet met with Trump.
“We always learn from sporting events that come before us and so far there’s been a lot of good positive goodwill that’s moving forward in the right direction,” Coventry told The AP of the IOC and FIFA’s dealings with the Trump administration.
The Milan Cortina Olympics will also be held amid ongoing bans of most Russian athletes due to the war in Ukraine, and with the war in Gaza still fresh in mind.
“We recognize the power that sport plays in breaking down barriers and building bridges and strengthening communities,” Coventry said earlier during her speech at the lighting of the torch-relay cauldron.
“The flame symbolizes the true spirit of the Olympic Games. One that can only flourish when every eligible athlete, team and official can take part without any discrimination,” Coventry added. “The Olympic Games exists to bring people together, to break down the walls that divide us and to inspire the dreams and hopes of the next generation.”
Andrew Dampf is at https://x.com/AndrewDampf
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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