Warming climate should be top priority, Olympians urge IOC presidential hopefuls

Canadian freestyle skier Philippe Marquis has always felt most at home in the mountains, his playground a postcard of snow-capped beauty.

But the two-time Olympian has watched the place he loves most change over his time in the sport, all because of a warming climate. Less than a decade ago, he would train into the summer months on Horstman Glacier in Whistler. No more. The glacier was closed to summer skiing and snowboarding last year due to a lack of snow.

Now a coach with Freestyle Skiing Canada's NextGen program in moguls, Marquis said athletes have been forced to rely on man-made snow, which is harder and icier than natural powder and can be tough on athletes' bodies. Schedules have been thrown in a blender by weather-related changes, and with that, Marquis said the cost to compete has increased.

"Seeing the changes around the world is something that I'm very scared of, and it's something that is really affecting me and the sport I dearly love," Marquis, who chairs the Canadian Olympic Committee's athletes' commission, said in an interview with CBC Sports.

He's one of more than 400 athletes across the world who have signed a letter to the candidates vying to become the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, urging them to make climate their number-one priority.

IOC members from across the world will gather in Greece next week for the IOC Session, where they will elect a new president among seven candidates. The candidates made their case privately to members at a closed-door event in Switzerland in January, with only 15 minutes each to lay out their vision.

Some have emphasized the climate more than others in their public platforms: Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski Federation, described climate change as an "existential threat" to the Winter Olympics and has pitched rotating those Games between permanent venues as a more a sustainable option.

Meanwhile, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, one of the front runners, references the challenge of climate change in his platform and vows to "embed ambitious environmental goals into every aspect of the Games, setting new standards for sustainability and green innovation in sport," but doesn't elaborate on those goals or how he'll achieve them. Coe has said climate change may eventually force the Summer Olympics to the winter calendar.

The winner will replace Thomas Bach, who has governed the largest sporting organization in the world since 2013, and will officially take over in June.

That person will be tasked with guiding the Olympic Games through a post-pandemic world, navigating challenges ranging from war and political instability to sport integrity and athlete safety.

They'll also be tasked with keeping the Games relevant among a younger generation that consumes media in a vastly different way than their parents and grandparents did. 

"[We need] a leader who understands and embodies the positive values of sport, stands up for integrity, good governance, and sustainability, financial and environmental, while advancing a safe and inclusive sporting environment worldwide," Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith, who is an IOC member eligible to cast a vote in the election, said in a written statement to CBC Sports.

But no challenge may be bigger than a warming planet and the extreme weather that comes with it, the athletes who signed the letter to IOC candidates argue. Extreme heat makes it more difficult to plan the Summer Games, while fewer places are able to host the Winter Games, due to a lack of snow and melting ice.

"This is no longer a distant threat, but a current and growing harm to the sports we love and to the countries that make up our Olympic family," the letter says.