Int'l Cycling Union (UCI) President Brian Cookson "has now suggested that all track events could be moved from the summer to the winter Games," according to Tom Cary of the London TELEGRAPH. The Englishman said that "a whole raft of indoor events such as judo or badminton could be switched to the winter to free up space" in an over-congested summer program. Cookson: "If you have a problem with summer Olympics where the whole thing is perceived as overheated with too many facilities, too many sports, too many competitors and so on, why not look at moving some of the other sports that traditionally take place in the winter in the northern hemisphere indoors?" (TELEGRAPH, 3/25).The PA reported IOC President Thomas Bach announced a review of the whole Olympic program "with the results to be presented at a special session in Monaco at the end of this year." Cookson said that cycling "has enjoyed huge success in the Olympics but that sports' leaders should not just accept the status quo." Cookson said, "Thomas Bach has instituted a debate about the format for the Games and let's think about the Winter Olympics, why does it have to be snow and ice? The reality these days is that the base for the Winter Olympics the last few times has been two- or three-hours drive away from the mountains" (PA, 3/25). The BBC reported Cookson, who has campaigned for cyclo-cross to be included in the Winter Olympics, added, "If we moved track cycling to the Winter Olympics and that allowed us to have more track cycling events and more medals, that could be a pretty good outcome" (BBC, 3/25).
