IOC says sports cut from Brisbane 2032 can return

Sports and medal events cut from the 2032 Brisbane Olympics program will have a path to return at future Summer Games, IOC president Kirsty Coventry told sports leaders on Wednesday at the ASOIF General Assembly in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"There is a path [back]. It's not just an end," Coventry told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the annual meeting of Summer Olympic sports federations.espn

The reassurance came as the International Olympic Committee works to finalize a Brisbane program that Coventry has previously indicated will feature fewer than the 36 sports set for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Brisbane could also have fewer than the 353 medal events scheduled for Los Angeles.espn

Sports at Risk

Modern pentathlon has long been considered vulnerable to losing its historic Olympic status, while sports added to the Los Angeles program — including flag football, lacrosse and squash — will need to compete for their place in Brisbane before having their showcase in 2028.espn

"I know that not everyone will be happy," Coventry acknowledged to ASOIF members Wednesday, adding that "the goal is not to destroy any sport."espn

Cost and Venue Concerns

Coventry told the AP that the most important metric guiding the program decisions will be the number of venues needed, as the IOC seeks to manage costs for host cities. "The cost and complexity comes when you start adding additional venues for single purpose events," she said. "That's where we need to look and say: 'How could we change that?'"espn

Coventry met with ASOIF members on Tuesday and assured them the IOC does not yet have "specific numbers" as targets for sports and events. A June 24 meeting of the full IOC membership in Lausanne is expected to agree on a formal process for evaluating sports and events, with a list of sports at Brisbane potentially confirmed as early as September.espn

The program changes are part of Coventry's broader push, signaled in February, for "uncomfortable" talks to make future Olympic hosting more efficient.asoif+1