'Many lessons to be learned' from 2026 Games preparations, says ski chief

PARIS — Johan Eliasch, president of the most powerful winter sports federation, has told reporters that less than two months before the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics there are "many, many lessons to be learned".

The 63-year-old head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which is responsible for more than half of all events at the Winter Games, admitted "it is a great challenge to have everything ready on time".

He added: "There are many, many lessons to be learned from these Games in terms of planning and execution and event delivery."

His comments come after Andrea Varnier, CEO of the 2026 Winter Olympics organizing committee, conceded earlier this month "there is a lot of finishing to do around the venues" ahead of the opening ceremony on Feb 6.

Organizers are not the only ones in a race against the clock.

Three Russian and six Belarusian skiers are seeking to qualify after a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned an FIS ban, imposed since the ongoing conflict in Ukraine began in February 2022.

If they qualify, they will compete under a neutral flag, just as they did at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

The return to the sporting fold for both countries — Belarus is regarded as an ally of Russia — also received a boost last week when the IOC urged sports bodies to fully reintegrate their athletes into junior competitions and allow them to compete with their national flag and anthem.

Eliasch, who has been president of FIS since 2021, said he agreed with the recommendation.

"My position is that you cannot be held accountable for where you are born," he said.

Nevertheless, Eliasch, who refers to himself as Anglo-Swedish as he has spent more time in Britain than his country of birth, said the debate over the issue could have benefited from a "more precise definition of political neutrality".

"The term 'politically neutral' clearly means different things to different people, and the room for interpretation is too wide," he said.

"The sports movement would benefit greatly from a more precise definition of political neutrality.

"It is not only about not taking sides, but how decision-making governance operates with political neutrality as a guiding principle."

'Stamp her mark'

Eliasch is, however, against the IOC expanding future Winter Games to include sports more associated with summer pursuits.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry set up a working group on the Olympic sports program, tasked with studying the possible inclusion in the 2030 Winter Games in France of disciplines such as trail running or cyclocross, which fall under international federations involved in the Summer Olympics.

The IOC is expected to make a decision in June next year.

"The position is that we need to focus on making the existing product better, not adding complexity and cost," said Eliasch.

"It is all about quality, not quantity. We need to have the best athletes, best formats and best sports.

"If the (Winter Olympics) become a sort of aggregation of sports you can do during the winter, it becomes a different type of Winter Games without a distinct identity.

"It will lose traction. It says in the Olympic Charter winter sports are on snow and ice. Running on snow is not really a sport."

Eliasch ran against Coventry in the election to succeed Thomas Bach in March, garnering just two votes.

However, he said he had "no regrets" and that it was "mission accomplished", because it had given him the chance to meet all the IOC members in a matter of months.

Far from being a sore loser, he said he admires what he has seen from two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist Coventry.

"I have seen a change of style of leadership from her side, more listening than before, and I think people feel this is a refreshing different leadership style," he said.

"I have the highest respect for Thomas Bach and what he did, but equally I have the highest respect for Kirsty.

"She is trying to stamp her mark in the way of running things."

AFP