The IOC President reflects on the Games
Official Highlights
MILAN - Comments from International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty COVENTRY (ZIM) at a press conference at the Main Media Centre on Friday.
Kirsty COVENTRY (ZIM) - IOC President
On the success of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games:
"I don't think you can leave these Games not feeling inspired by what we have seen on the field of play. I really want to thank the Milano Cortina 2026 team across all the venues, and all the volunteers.
"I have spent the last couple of days up in the mountains under the snow, and it felt like a true Olympic Winter Games."
On first-time Olympic medallists, including Alpine skier Lucas PINHEIRO BRAATHEN (BRA):
"We have seen teams walking away as first-time medal winners, including Brazil. It is pretty cool that the Olympic Games sort of shut down the Carnival (in Brazil) for a couple of hours to celebrate Lucas' gold."
On presenting medals at the figure skating:
"I got to present medals to the figure skaters, and I had my six-year-old with me. She was completely in awe of everything around her, and then she passed out in the car. It is great to see the Games through the pureness of little kids, which is magical."
On whether the IOC will follow the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their countries' flags in future Olympic Games:
"The IPC is completely separate from us. We weren't part of any of those discussions. Right now, we are focused on the last three days of Milano Cortina 2026. There have not been any discussions at this point.
"As and when we look at having those conversations, we will look at everything, but there is nothing planned for the near future."
On whether the Games are too political:
"When you look at the pure viewership numbers we are getting, it shows the Games can unify people. I wholeheartedly believe we still have a huge role to play to allow that to happen, and to show people what kindness and courage looks like."
On IOC Member and FIFA President Gianni INFANTINO (SUI) attending US President Donald TRUMP's ‘Board of Peace’ meeting and signing an agreement with the initiative on behalf of FIFA:
"I wasn't aware we had an IOC Member front and centre. I don't really have much to say about it. From the IOC's point of view, we will continue to be politically neutral.
"That is the only way for us to act as an organisation to ensure we allow for fairness on the field of play, and that's what we will continue to do as we look to the future.
"Now that you have made us aware, we will go back and, of course, look into it. The Olympic Charter is very clear about what it expects from IOC Members, and we will go and research into the alleged signing of documents."
On maintaining Olympic neutrality:
"It comes down to being able to stick very truly to our principles and values, and that is what we have tried to do. We have not just tried, we have done it, and that is really important.
"Once you start straying from the values and principles of the Olympic movement, you get into uncharted waters."
On Norway winning multiple gold medals at Milano Cortina 2026:
"We probably need to have an Olympic Winter Games in Norway, and you have plenty of venues (laughs). Norway has done an incredible job, and the Italians are hot on your heels (to top the medal table). Let's see what the future holds."
On a Games held at multiple venues:
"I have had the opportunity to go to all the venues and the athletes are extremely happy. They are happy because the experience that both the Milano Cortina 2026 team and my team have delivered to them has been the same.
"I have to thank the Milano Cortina 2026 team for hearing from our Athletes' Commission, who wanted the experiences (across different venues) to be exactly the same.
"I spent some time with some athletes in Cortina, who said they thought their experience at the Opening Ceremony was actually better than walking into the (San Siro) stadium because they got to be so close to all the people in the city, including seeing little kids waving from the windows then running down to high-five them.
"We always look at the data after the Games, and see what worked and didn't, but these Games have been really successful in showing a new and sustainable way of doing things."
On combatting online abuse aimed at athletes:
"We have a safeguarding unit and during the Games we monitor all the social media platforms. We do our best whenever we see hateful messages. We try to pull them down. We also notify safeguarding officers so they can help if an athlete is going through anything.
"Sadly, in today's world, it is very easy to throw stones on social media. I have experienced it as an athlete. What the IOC Athletes' Commission has been focusing on is finding ways to better support and educate athletes, and we will continue to do that."
On the legacy of the Games and the success of the Italian team:
"The home team is doing extremely, extremely well, which is exciting because you get to see the true passion of all of Italy (for the Games).
"The Italian athletes, whether they have won a medal or not, are going to be inspirational heroes to so many people in the country and around the world. And that, in itself, is a very strong legacy because they have just inspired other (future) Olympians."
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