LA, Salt Lake City Games have Trump administration’s backing: USOPC chief

The Olympic Rings outside a sound stage during an NBC Universal Team USA filming event ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics on May 21. PHOTO: AFP

UPDATED Jun 19, 2025, 12:00 PM

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LOS ANGELES – United States President Donald Trump’s administration has assured local Olympic officials it is committed to supporting the successful hosting of the Summer Games in 2028 and 2034 Winter Games, US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) chief executive Sarah Hirshland said.

Mr Trump issued a directive earlier in June banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the US as part of an immigration crackdown he said was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.

Athletes and their coaches and families are exempt from the travel ban, however, and Hirshland said the LA Games in 2028 and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics six years later were a chance for the United States to bring people of all backgrounds together.

“It’s a great opportunity to welcome the world and to do it through the lens of sport,” she said on a call with reporters. “We all believe that sport is a great unifier. It is a great environment to create common purpose, common values, to see great competition and sportsmanship.

“And we have every assurance from the administration that they will be great partners in helping ensure that we are a great host country.”

Hirshland also said there was still plenty of work to do before the country is ready to host the events but was optimistic the US would rise to the challenge.

In related news, Russian luge athletes will not be allowed to qualify for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics even as neutrals, the International Luge Federation (FIL) said after a vote on June 18.

The 24-7 decision to continue an existing exclusion from FIL competitions was taken at the governing body’s congress in Tampere, Finland.

The congress also decided 24-8 in a second vote not to authorise a programme for neutral Russian athletes.

“As a result, Russian athletes and their entourage will not be permitted to participate in the 2026 Olympic Winter Games,” FIL said in a statement.

FIL president Einars Fogelis, a Latvian, said the congress had made its position clear.

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“This outcome reflects our collective responsibility to uphold fair and safe competition. We fully respect the diversity of views within our community, especially from our athletes,” he added.

The International Olympic Committee said in May that Russian teams, including the powerful national ice hockey side, remained banned from next year’s Games as part of sanctions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes took part in the Paris 2024 summer Olympics after rigorous vetting by the IOC and as neutrals without national flags or anthems.

Four Russian figure skaters in men’s and women’s singles have been approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Olympics as neutral athletes. REUTERS, AFP

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