In which the IOC meets the African philosophy 'ubuntu'

In which the IOC meets the African philosophy 'ubuntu'

MILAN — In her remarks Friday at the Milano-Cortina 2026 opening ceremony, IOC president Kirsty Coventry invoked the African philosophy called ubuntu.

The essence of ubuntu, linked in particular in history to Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Demond Tutu, is that one’s humanity is inextricably connected to the humanity of everyone else. 

What might ubuntu mean for the way the IOC operates, as a touchstone for key decisions, the way the organization — which dates to 1894 — positions itself in these middle years of the 21st century? The IOC is, has always been, Eurocentric. And now this rooted-in-Africa philosophy? Can Kirsty Coventry get ubuntu buy-in?

The Russians are not coming to Milano-Cortina. After that? LA28?

MILAN — These Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, which opened Friday night to ceremonies across northern Italy, including a traditional and spectacular show at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan, would seem the last at which the Russians are not coming. 

At least under their flag, anthem, colors, all that.

To be clear: the war in Ukraine is horrific, the carnage almost unimaginable, the toll upon thousands upon thousands of lives immeasurable. All of it is awful beyond words, cause for profound heartache.

The issue the war - any war - presents in an Olympic context is essential: should an athlete be responsible for what his or her government does? If so, why?

IOC 'new norm' and what 'uncomfortable' next steps await

IOC 'new norm' and what 'uncomfortable' next steps await

MILAN — Perhaps the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games will be prove a welcome distraction.

The International Olympic Committee could use it.

The IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, in a news conference at the end of the group’s Milan assembly, said it is “at a pivoting point.”

Challenges with both the Olympic business model and the human resources culture in Lausanne and perhaps beyond now seem to be surfacing at multiple levels and at a rapid pace. That would suggest symptoms of way bigger issues.

Insider "systematic theft" of $1.75 million shakes World Athletics

Insider "systematic theft" of $1.75 million shakes World Athletics

Insiders at World Athletics are believed to have stolen about $1.75 million over “a period of several years,” prompting the federation to pursue criminal cases while launching “a set of enhanced internal financial controls,” it said in a statement.

The federation said it discovered the “systemic theft” earlier this year. The focus, it said in the statement, centers on two former employees and a contracted consultant. At issue: fake or doctored invoices.

One of the two ex-employees left before the theft was discovered. The other, and the consultant, “had their contracts terminated,” the federation said in that statement, offered in response to an inquiry about the matter.

The Olympic Charter is clear: all means all

The Olympic Charter is clear: all means all

The immediate past president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, served for 12 years with this elegant guiding notion: “unity in diversity.”\

Six years ago, Bach wrote a column published in The Guardian, the British newspaper, that read, in part: “The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they address all the political and social challenges in our world. But they can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.”

The new IOC president, Kirsty Coventry, elected in March, faces enormous challenge in delivering on the aspirational promise of the Olympics that Bach articulated so eloquently. 

The Olympic system under threat - from Indonesia - and what IOC should do

The Olympic system under threat - from Indonesia - and what IOC should do

That mission is at grave risk because the government of Indonesia is not allowing a six-member Israeli team to compete in the world gymnastics championships due to begin next week in Jakarta.

The IOC’s mission then is the mission now: to put sport at the  “service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity,” as it says in the Olympic Charter. 

The gymnastics championships must be moved out of Indonesia

The gymnastics championships must be moved out of Indonesia

The Olympic Charter is very clear.

It says, point 5, “Recognizing that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality.”

As matters stand, the Israeli team is unable to compete at the gymnastics world championships - due to begin Oct. 19 - in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. 

Why? The government of Indonesia has denied visas to a six-person Israeli delegation amid the war with Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli team includes Artem Dolgopyat, who won the floor exercise at both the 2020 Olympics and 2023 worlds; he took silver in Paris in 2024.  

This is just wrong. 

A 1980s record still stands. Barely. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins women's 400

A 1980s record still stands. Barely. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wins women's 400

Until Thursday, in the women’s 400, only two women had gone under 48 seconds, both from the 1980s — Marita Koch of East Germany and Jarmila Kratochvilová of what was then Czechoslovakia. Koch went 47.60 in 1985. Two years earlier, at the 1983 worlds in Helsinki, Kratochvilová went 47.99.

Until Thursday, that was the championship record.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone crossed in 47.78.

Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, the Paris 2024 Olympic and 2023 worlds champion, finished in 47.98 — one-hundredth faster than Kratochvilová. But good enough only for second.

Imane Khelif, the IOC, World Boxing and mandatory sex testing

Imane Khelif, the IOC, World Boxing and mandatory sex testing

The female category in sport is for women and girls – individuals with XX chromosomes.

Identity is not biology.

To pretend otherwise is not only to make a mockery of any notion of fairness but, in the case of boxing, risk serious injury or worse.

Now, with Algeria’s Imane Khelif said to be on the verge of returning to competition, World Boxing has announced that Khelif, winner of a gold medal at the Paris Games, must take a chromosome test to prove eligibility – in its words, undergo “mandatory sex testing.” 

The IOC's first female (and first African) president: Kirsty Coventry

The IOC's first female (and first African) president: Kirsty Coventry

COSTA NAVARINO, Greece – The International Olympic Committee, founded in 1894, has had nine presidents.

All have been white men. Eight have been Europeans. Avery Brundage, 1952-72, was American.

On Thursday, in just a single round of voting, the IOC elected Kirsty Coventry, 41, of Zimbabwe, its 10th president. She will formally take over from Thomas Bach in June in Lausanne. He was elected in 2013 and is termed out.