The Canadian skier Freestyle Philippe Marquis always felt as much as possible at home in the mountains, his playground, snowy postcard beautifully.
But the two -time Olympian watched a place that loves the change in sport the most, all because of the warming climate. Less than ten years ago he trained in the summer months at the Horstman glacier in Whistler. No more. Last year, the glacier was closed to summer skiing and snowboard due to a lack of snow.
Now a trainer with the Nextgen program in Moguls, Canada, Marquis said that athletes were forced to rely on a snow created by a man who is more difficult and more measures than natural powder and can be hard for athletes. The schedules were thrown in a blender through weather changes, and with this Marquis said that the cost of competition increased.
“Seeing changes around the world is something that I am very afraid of, and it is something that really affects me and the sport that I love very much,” said Marquis, who chaired the Olympic Canadian athletes committee, in an interview with CBC Sports.
He is one of over 400 athletes around the world who have signed a letter to candidates fighting to become the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), calling them to make their atmosphere with their number one priority.
IOC members from around the world will gather in Greece next week at the IOC session, where they will choose a new president from among seven candidates. Candidates made their case privately to members at a closed event in Switzerland In January, with just 15 minutes to determine your vision.
Some emphasized the climate more than others on their public platforms: Johan Eliasch, president of the International Federation of Ski, described climate change as a “existential threat” for the Winter Olympic Games and developed these games between permanent places as a more balanced option.
Meanwhile, the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, one of the front runners, refers to change climate change on his platform and oaths that “he settled ambitious environmental goals in every aspect of games, setting new standards of sustainable development and green innovation in sports,” but he does not develop these goals or how it will achieve them. Coe said that climate change could eventually force Summer Olympic Games for the winter calendar.
The winner will replace Thomas Bach, who ruled the largest sports organization in the world since 2013 and will officially take power in June.
This person will have the task of conducting the Olympic Games through the postpandemical world, navigating the challenges, from war and political instability to sports integrity and athletes' safety.
They will also have the task of keeping games in the field of young generation, which consumes the media in a completely different way than their parents and grandparents.
“(We need) a leader who understands and embodies positive values of sport, opposes honesty, good management and sustainable development, financial and environmental, while developing a safe and integration sports environment around the world,” said the magazine of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Tricia Smith, who is a member of the MCC qualifying for the election.
“It is no longer a distant threat”
But no challenge can be greater than the warming planet and the extreme weather, which accompanies it, is argued by athletes who signed a letter to the IOC candidates. Extreme heat hinders planning summer games, while fewer places are able to organize winter games due to the lack of snow and melting ice.
“This is no longer a distant threat, but the current and growing damage to the sports we love, and the countries that create our Olympic family,” says the letter.
Athletes call to meet the new president and to strengthen the IOC's obligations to “quickly reduce carbon dioxide emissions”. They also call the IOC to “establish a standard” when it comes to “sponsorship with a high record”.
The letter contains signatures from over 125 carriers of Olympic flags and over 20 Canadians.
This includes athletes who won medals in Paris last year, such as Spring Katie Vincent, volleyball player Melissa Humana-Predes, tennis player Gabriel Dabrowski and Mavellifter Maude Charron, who was one of the Canadian carriers of flags at the opening ceremony of Paris 2024.
About a month ago, Vincent went to a training camp on the outskirts of San Diego. Her group was forced to find somewhere else to train for several days, when the flowering of the algae closed the lakes they were to use.
“They believe that it was because of the chemicals that entered the soil because of the fights (Los Angeles) of fires that flowed through the soil and eventually infected the lake,” said Vincent, who became the Olympic champion in a sprint kayak last summer in Paris.
The three -time Olympic medalist also experienced warming temperatures throughout her career, perhaps the most noteworthy during the extreme heat of the Tokyo Olympics. He said Vincent said they were one of the hottest weather athletes.
Fire risk in La 2028
The IOC sworn to reduce its direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent to 2030, in accordance with the Paris Agreement on climate change.
In Paris, the organizers decided to focus on temporary or existing infrastructure to avoid generating emissions related to building new facilities. The organizers said that 2024 years of games reduced the carbon trail of games by over 54 percent compared to the average in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
But Los Angeles is in the center of attention in 2028 and the risk of fire on the mind of everyone after taking the destructive flames of last autumn, which killed almost 30 people and destroyed thousands of houses and other structures.
Vincent said that the reminder is the obligation to make sure that they protect the environment, so he wants to make sure that he is at the top of the IOC priority list.
“It seemed that the right time to add my name to this list and help in continuing to talk to the IOC.