Coe confident of cross-country inclusion in Winter Olympics

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe expressed his confidence Thursday that cross-country running would soon be included in the Winter Olympics programme.

Coe has long argued that the rightful place for cross-country was at the Winter Olympics, which would open those Games to a large African audience in a hat-tip to diversity the International Olympic Committee (IOC) so heralds. 

The last time it featured in the Olympics was at the 1924 Paris Games when most of the athletes dropped out due to extreme heat and pollution from a nearby factory. 

Talks have been ongoing between Coe and his international cycling federation (UCI) counterpart David Lappartient for a joint proposal of cross-country running and cyclo-cross, on the same circuit. 

“There’s a lot of detail to be sorted,” Coe said.

“But we’ve had some good discussions about the thought of sharing the same course with cyclo-cross, which in itself would probably add a little bit of jeopardy into cross-country which is what we’ve welcomed in the past, particularly around our recent cross-country championships,” Coe said. 

Coe is a fervent supporter of cross-country running, a long-time proponent of the sport’s training benefits.

“For me, there’s one really important element in this: I’ve always wanted to see cross-country back,” said the Briton, who won two Olympic 1500m gold medals in 1980 and 1984.

“I think it is obviously more at home in the winter. It is historically, traditionally, a winter sport and it really does give Africa an opportunity to be a really serious part of the Winter Games.” 

Including cross-country in the Winter Olympics would avoid any dilution, with athletes at the Summer Games considered more likely to focus on individual track glory.

But one dilemma to overcome is abiding by Winter Olympic rules that events must be contested on snow or ice. 

Currently world cross-country championships are held in March, and some have featured snow, which has posed a problem neither for athletes nor organisers. 

The next Winter Olympics are scheduled for Milan/Cortina in 2026, with the IOC last month announcing the successful candidacies of the French Alps and Salt Lake City, Utah, as respective hosts for the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games. 

Coe added: “There’s a lot of goodwill. I’ve already had sensitive discussions with the US Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee in Salt Lake City.” 

UCI chief Lappartient is also head of the French national Olympic committee behind the successful Alps bid.

“David is very key,” Coe acknowledged. “Let’s see where we get to. 

“To use a good cricket analogy, there’s more than outside edge of a chance that we could probably get this across the line.”