Online Reporter
THE International Olympic Committee said the appearance of US Vice President JD Vance at the Winter Olympics in Italy sent a clear message of Washington’s commitment to the Olympic movement.
The IOC confirmed that Vance held his first meeting with new IOC president Kirsty Coventry.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, with preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics already deep into the planning phase.
Coventry, who assumed office in June, has been seeking early engagement with the Trump administration as the IOC navigates logistical, political, and security questions around staging the Games in the United States. Within Olympic circles, there had been quiet speculation about when a formal meeting would happen, given the scale of the Los Angeles project. “From the IOC point of view and with the next Games coming up in Los Angeles, we are super happy that the United States administration is so engaged with the Games here and obviously going forward,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters. “That is a great thing for the Olympic movement.”
Adams declined to give details on the timing, length, or substance of the discussion, saying only that the encounter was positive.
“I know they met. It went incredibly well,” he said. “There was very good chemistry. She was very pleased about the enthusiasm of the Vice President and the whole administration for the Games, which for us is an important thing.”
On Friday night, the US team of athletes was warmly received at the opening ceremony, with cheers rippling through the stadium.
Vance, however, drew scattered boos when he appeared on giant screens waving an American flag.
Outside the venues, several hundred protesters gathered in Milan to oppose the presence of US immigration agents at the Games. Officials linked to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have routinely accompanied American Olympic delegations at past Games, a practice that has again drawn criticism. — Reuters
Mathew Masinge