Kirsty Coventry, the International Olympic Committee president, was caught off guard by journalists after being asked questions on Germany hosting the Games on the Nazi anniversary during an extraordinary press conference on Friday.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier released a statement stating that hosting the 2036 Olympics would be inappropriate, given it would mark exactly a century since the Nazi Games.
The Zimbabwean former swimmer, who made history last year as the first woman and African elected to lead the IOC, responded: “Frankly, and I’m looking at my team because I was not aware that Germany had made any comments in and around 2036.
“So I don’t really have an opinion on it.”
The press conference was designed to celebrate the achievements of her inaugural Winter Games, but instead, Coventry found herself repeatedly caught off guard by journalists’ questions about major developments she claimed she knew nothing about.
She directed her frustration at staff and publicly threatened to sack members of her communications team mid-conference.
Her team includes communications chief Mark Adams, who earns more than £420,000 annually.
During the heated exchange, she said: “Maybe someone needs to be dismissed.”
Kirsty Coventry, the International Olympic Committee president, was caught off guard by journalists
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REUTERS
A subsequent query regarding a whistleblower who allegedly informed WADA that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency chair was directly implicated in systematic doping at the Sochi Winter Olympics drew further confusion.
She replied: “Ok, I’m really looking at my team and maybe someone needs to be dismissed because I’m not aware of that either.
“But I would be very interested to find out more about it.”
Journalists also pressed her on whether Fifa president Gianni Infantino should face investigation after appearing at Donald Trump’s Board of Peace wearing a red “USA” cap.
Her team includes communications chief Mark Adams, who earns more than £420,000 annually
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GETTY
The 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin served as a major propaganda tool for the Nazi regime
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GETTY
Adams, who has served as the IOC’s long-standing communications chief, has recently been linked to a possible move to Downing Street.
The PR executive has been linked to joining his friend, Sir Keir Starmer, on his team following the departure of Tim Allan as the Prime Minister’s director of communications.
However, given his substantial remuneration package of over £420,000, Adams may be reluctant to change employers.
Critics have suggested Coventry’s public rebuke of her media staff was ill-judged and would have been better delivered privately rather than in front of assembled journalists at what should have been a routine press briefing.
Kirsty Coventry praised the event as having established ‘a new standard for the future’ at Sunday’s closing ceremony
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An IOC spokesman subsequently clarified that Infantino’s attendance at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting alongside President Trump and other world leaders did not contravene the Olympic Charter’s regulations on political neutrality.
When asked about the Fifa President’s appearance, Coventry said: “The Olympic Charter is very clear on what it expects of its members.”
Despite the difficulties with the press conference, Coventry has maintained a prominent presence throughout the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
At Sunday’s closing ceremony, she praised the event as having established “a new standard for the future” and commended organisers for delivering “a new kind of Winter Games.”
