02/04/26 05:42:00
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02/04 05:40 CST IOC open to earlier dates for future Winter Olympics and
Paralympics because of warmer temperatures
IOC open to earlier dates for future Winter Olympics and Paralympics because of
warmer temperatures
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
MILAN (AP) --- Staging future Winter Games as early as January and the
Paralympic Winter Games in February is a possibility because of the effects of
warmer temperatures, the International Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
Every Winter Games medal was won in February since the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics
opened Jan. 29, and moving to January would likely disrupt scheduling of
storied World Cup races and events. It also would more directly clash with NFL
and NBA schedules.
The IOC is now reviewing Olympic Games issues in the first year of Kirsty
Coventry's presidency and changing the winter edition dates is an option.
"Maybe we are also discussing to bring the Winter Olympics a little bit
earlier," the IOC member overseeing the sports program review, Karl Stoss, told
reporters. "To do it in January because it has an implication for the
Paralympics as well."
The Milan Cortina Paralympic Winter Games will be held March 6-15.
The IOC has long acknowledged under Coventry's predecessor Thomas Bach that
changing climate is a challenge for finding future hosts and organizing
competitions.
"(March) is very late because the sun is strong enough to melt the snow," said
Stoss, whose home country Austria is a traditional power in Alpine skiing and
ski jumping.
"Maybe the Paralympics will be in February and the other edition will be in
January. That would also be a part of our discussion," he said on the sidelines
of the IOC's eve-of-Olympics meeting in Milan.
The 100-plus IOC members should meet again in June to make decisions about the
Olympic reviews, in a program called "Fit For The Future," and whether to add
new sports and events to the 2030 French Alps Winter Games.
The French Alps edition is currently expected to run Feb. 1-17 and the 2034
Utah Winter Games from Feb. 10--26.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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