ΙΟC’s new president Kirsty Coventry wants sit-down with Trump

Kirsty Coventry during the press conference after she was elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee.

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International Olympic Committee’s newly-elected President Kirsty Coventry wants to sit down with United States President Donald Trump to make sure the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics are successful, she said on Thursday.

“President Trump is a huge supporter of sport. There’s never been a sitting President that has attended the Super Bowl,” Coventry told Reuters in an interview following her election victory on Thursday.

“He was the President at the time when LA was awarded the Games (in 2017). I truly believe that he wants the LA 28 Games to be a huge success.”

Coventry, who is Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister as well as Africa’s most decorated Olympian, says both the IOC and the United States wanted successful Olympics in three years time.

Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry elected new IOC President:

The LA Games present a major commercial opportunity, with the IOC seeking to create new sources of revenues, and the American market presenting new opportunities with the first summer Olympics in the United States in more than 30 years.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has announced a number of executive orders that focus on stricter border entry requirements, tighter visa vetting procedures and a crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Several IOC members on Thursday who said they had long waits for US visas expressed concerns over entry regulations for athletes travelling to the LA 2028 Olympics, asking US Games organisers for clarifications, given Trump’s hardline border policies.