Warm climate should be the top priority, and Olympic athletes urge the IOC president to have hope

Canadian freestyle skier Philippe Marquis has always felt most at home on the hills, and his playground is a snowy beauty.

But two Olympic athletes have watched his favorite changes in the sport, both due to the warm climate. Less than a decade ago, he will be training for summer on the Horstman Glacier in Whistler. no longer. The glacier opened last year by summer skiing and snowboarding due to lack of snow.

Now, Marquis is a freestyle skiing coach at Moguls, who is forced to rely on artificial snow, which is harder, smarter than natural powder and can be tougher for athletes’ bodies. The weather-related changes, the schedule has been thrown in the mixer, Marquis said, with competition costs increasing.

“It’s something I’m very scared to see changes around the world, and it really affects the sports I love deeply,” Marquis, chaired by the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Committee, said in an interview with CBC Sports.

He is one of more than 400 athletes around the world who signed a letter to candidates for the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, urging them to make climate number one priority.

International Olympic Committee members from around the world will hold an IOC meeting in Greece next week, where they will elect a new president of seven candidates. Candidates privately proposed to members during a closed event in Switzerland in January, with only 15 minutes each to articulate their vision.

Some people emphasize climate more than others on their public platforms: International Ski Federation President Johan Eliasch described climate change as a “existent threat” to the Winter Olympics and would spin between permanent venues the games is a more sustainable option.

Meanwhile, world track and field president Sebastian Coe, one of the former runners, mentioned the challenges of climate change in his platform and vowed to “embed ambitious environmental goals into every aspect of the Olympics, setting new standards for sustainability and green innovation in sport, but did not shed light on those goals or how he would achieve them. COE said climate change could eventually force the Summer Olympics to the winter calendar.

The winner will replace Thomas Bach, who has dominated the world’s largest sports organization since 2013 and will officially take over in June.

The man is tasked with guiding the Olympics through the pandemic world, from war and political turmoil to the challenges of sport integrity and athlete safety.

They will also be responsible for making the game relevant to the younger generation, who consume media in different ways with their parents and grandparents.

“[We need] A leader who understands and embodies the positive values ​​of sport represents integrity, good governance and sustainability, finance and the environment while promoting a safe, inclusive sports environment globally,” said Tricia Smith, president of the Canadian Olympic Games President Tricia Smith, a member of the IOC, who is eligible to vote for CBC Sports in the election.

“No longer a distant threat”

But no challenge could be greater than the warmer planet and the extreme weather that comes with it, athletes who signed the letter to the IOC candidates believe. Extreme heat makes planning summer games more difficult, and fewer places can host winter games due to the lack of snow and melted ice.

“This is no longer a distant threat, but a current and growing harm to the sport we like and the nation that makes up our Olympic family,” the letter said.

The athlete called for a meeting with the new president and asked the person to strengthen the IOC’s commitment to “rapidly reduce carbon emissions.” They also asked the IOC to “set standards” in terms of “high flush sponsorship”.

The letter includes signatures from more than 125 Olympic flag bearers and more than 20 Canadians.

These include athletes who won medals in Paris last year, such as Katie Vincent, volleyball player Melissa Humana-Paredes, tennis player Gabriela Dabrowski and weightlifter Maude Charron, who was one of the Canadian flagbearers at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris 2024 in Canada.

About a month ago, Vincent went to a training camp outside San Diego. When the algae blossomed, her group was forced to find other places to train for a few days.

“They think it’s because chemicals enter the soil because [Los Angeles] Vincent said.

The three-time Olympic medalist also experienced warm temperatures throughout her career, which is probably the most striking time of the extreme hot Tokyo Olympics. Vincent said these are some of the hottest weather athletes.

Wildfire Risks in LA 2028

By 2030, the IOC vows to reduce its direct and indirect carbon emissions by 50%, consistent with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

In Paris, organizers choose to focus on temporary or existing infrastructure to avoid the emissions from establishing new facilities. Organizers said the 2024 Summer Olympics reduced the Olympic carbon footprint by more than 54% compared to the 2012 London average.

But Los Angeles became a high-profile spotlight in 2028, following the losses caused by last fall’s devastating shine, the risk of wildfires took a risk in everyone’s mind, killing nearly 30 people and destroying thousands of homes and other buildings.

Vincent said it reminds people of the responsibility to ensure they protect the environment, which is why she wants to make sure it is on the IOC’s priority list.

“It feels like the right time to add my name to that list and help continue to have conversations with the IOC.”