Olympic presidential candidate Sebastian Coe cannot believe Donald Trump would do anything to harm the Los Angeles Games in 2028.
Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election last week means he is set to occupy his country’s highest office while it stages arguably the world’s two biggest sporting events.
The US will host the men’s football World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico in 2026 and then LA will host the summer Olympics for the second time in 2028, having done so previously in 1984.
The impact of Trump’s presidency on global sport is difficult to predict, but Coe is confident that whatever else might happen, the 78-year-old will be determined for LA to put on a good show.
What started as a dream, is now coming to reality.
— LA28 (@LA28) September 13, 2024
On this day 7 years ago, Los Angeles was awarded the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Now, the countdown to 2028 is ON. #NextUpLA28 pic.twitter.com/g2FD7snifU
“I cannot believe that Donald Trump wouldn’t want a hugely successful Games, and one that I hope embraced the world and reflected the country he lived in,” Coe said.
“I was there in ’84, the last time the Games were there. Ronald Reagan created a landscape that created a hugely successful Games.”
Coe will hope that he is president of the International Olympic Committee when 2028 rolls around.
He is set to publish his manifesto either next month or early in the new year, ahead of a presentation to IOC members in Lausanne on January 30.
Members will then elect one of the seven candidates as the new president at the IOC Session in Athens in March.
