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At the helm of the IOC for seven months, Kirsty Coventry is finally expected to set the course of her mandate in Milan, sketching out her vision for the future of the Olympics.The Zimbabwean former swimmer, the first woman and the first African to lead the International Olympic Committee, is likely to give clues to the movement's future direction in meetings on the eve of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.Coventry, who at 42 is also the youngest IOC leader since Pierre de Coubertin, has embodied a promise of renewal since her election.But the outlines of that change have been slow to emerge.As she promised during her election campaign, Coventry began her eight-year term by launching several working groups in June.However, on the highly-charged issue of the access to women's events for transgender and intersex athletes, she is awaiting further clarity before making decisions.One of the working groups, called "protection of the women's category", will address the issue of transgender and intersex athletes.Another centres on the Olympic programme, seeking to strike a balance between the size of the Games, the relevance of sports, and that of individual disciplines.The progress of the committees will be revealed for the first time during the IOC Executive Board meeting from Saturday to Monday, then discussed Tuesday and Wednesday in Milan by around 100 members of the Olympic body for an IOC Session, ahead of the opening of the Games on Friday.One aim is to redesign the Olympic sports programme - even if that means blurring the boundary between summer and winter events, should cyclo-cross or cross-country or trail running be included as early as the 2030 Games in the French Alps.Other aims are to rethink the way the Games are allocated, adapt their economic model, and give a fresh impetus to the Youth Olympics.Shadow of TrumpThe scientifically complex and politically explosive issue of protecting the women's category has been thrust back into the spotlight by the adoption of genetic testing in athletics, swimming, boxing and skiing.The bodies concerned want to reserve women's events for athletes carrying XX chromosomes, banning both transgender and 'intersex' athletes, defined as those considered female from birth and often unaware of their genetic or hormonal particularities.A decision on this issue will definitely not be on the Session agenda, Coventry said last week. Having initially promised in December to make a ruling "in the first quarter" of 2026, she is now speaking of "the coming months."Her timetable is constrained: with Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics, US President Donald Trump has banned transgender women from all women's competitions by executive order, encroaching on the IOC's prerogatives in his first months in office.Coventry "will probably wait until after the World Cup this summer for a first meeting with Trump. But at that point, there will have to be a policy", said Jean-Loup Chappelet, a specialist on Olympic issues at the University of Lausanne.Since 2021, the IOC has recommended that international federations adapt eligibility rules to each discipline, backed by scientific data, without assuming that intersex traits or transgender identity systematically confer an unfair advantage.Can Coventry maintain this nuanced line, at the risk of a confrontation with Trump?It is hard to anticipate, since the working group dedicated to gender is the only one whose composition the IOC has kept secret, in order to "protect" its members from harassment.That secrecy worries the Sport and Rights Alliance, a collection of leading human rights organisations, which said last week it feared the "politicisation and weaponisation" of the issue was having "undue influence on the IOC's decision".Coventry's own convictions remain a mystery for now: she readily recounts her personal attachment to Olympism but deflects political questions about the ongoing consultations.As for Trump, she joked after her election about her experience with "difficult men in high positions".Coventry, a former Zimbabwean sports minister, has since adopted a more diplomatic tone and will make initial contact in Milan with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio when they attend the opening ceremony of the Games. 

The first solo exhibition in India by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei opened Thursday, featuring sculpture, installation and mixed media spanning his career, as well as his “homage” to the country. The son of a revered poet, 68-year-old Ai is perhaps China’s best-known modern artist. He helped design the famous “Bird’s Nest” stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but fell out of favour after criticising the Chinese government and was imprisoned for 81 days in 2011. He eventually left for Germany four years later. His show at New Delhi’s Nature Morte gallery comes as India’s relations ease with neighbouring China, although the world’s two most populous nations remain strategic rivals in the region. “This is my first exhibition in India... although there are only a dozen of my artworks, it covers several key points that trace more than 20 years,” the artist, who did not attend the opening, said in a statement. Gallery co-director Aparajita Jain said the show aimed to broaden understanding and artistic exchange. “We’re simply a space for expression - a place for conversation where we can learn about art practices from around the world and share histories,” she said. The exhibition includes Ai’s large-scale Lego compositions “Surfing” and “Water Lilies”, alongside works made from porcelain, stone and even buttons. The exhibition includes three pieces made “as a homage to India”, Jain added - toy-brick works based on historic Indian paintings. Visual arts student Disha Sharma, 20, travelled 90kms from the city of Rohtak to see the opening. “It’s not art that you immediately understand,” said Sharma. “It makes you think.”Srishti Rana Menon, an artist based at Nature Morte, said that seeing the work in India was exciting. 

Kenyan runner Beatrice Chebet, who won gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is taking a maternity break in 2026, her agent announced Monday.The 25-year-old is also the world record holder in both events and capped her Olympic achievement by winning gold at both distances at the world championships in Tokyo in September. “After a lot of rumours, we can finally share the news: in 2026, Beatrice Chebet will run the most important race of her life - becoming a mother,” her agent announced on social media. Chebet was due to defend her title at the World Cross Country Championships in Florida on Saturday but announced her withdrawal a few days ago. She didn’t give an explanation but said she was looking forward to the “next chapter of (her) life.” She will not miss any major championships in 2026. The next world championships take place in in Beijing in 2027 before the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Here is a brief look at six trailblazing athletes who took maternity breaks and returned to the top of their game. 1. Allyson Felix (Track & Field)The Break: Felix took a break in 2018 and gave birth to her daughter, Camryn, via an emergency C-section at 32 weeks. 2. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Sprinting)The Break: The Jamaican “Mommy Rocket” sat out the 2017 World Championships to give birth to her son, Zyon. 3. Serena Williams (Tennis)The Break: Serena famously won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. She took the rest of the year off to give birth to her daughter, Olympia, facing life-threatening complications (pulmonary embolism) during delivery. 4. Alex Morgan (Soccer)The Break: The USWNT star took a break in late 2019 and gave birth to her daughter, Charlie, in May 2020. 5. Faith Kipyegon (Middle-Distance Running)The Break: The Kenyan 1500m specialist took a break after winning gold at the 2017 World Championships, giving birth to her daughter in 2018. 

Italian singer and songwriter Laura Pausini will be among the headline performers ‌at the opening ceremony ‌of the ‍Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, organisers said .Pausini, one ⁠of Italy's most internationally acclaimed ‍artists, is credited with helping to bring the country's music to a global audience.She has won a Grammy, five Latin Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe ‌and earned an Oscar nomination during a career spanning more than three ‍decades.The Milano Cortina ⁠Games opening ‌ceremony will take place on February 6 at Milan's San Siro Stadium.Created and produced by Balich Wonder Studio, the event will feature performances by international artists like American pop superstar Mariah Carey alongside elements celebrating Italian culture and ​innovation.Pausini "embodies the ‌concept of Harmony", the central theme of the ⁠ceremony, ‍and her music represents a meeting point between tradition and modernity, between Italian roots and an international outlook, organisers said in a ​statement.The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be staged across northern Italy, with events hosted in Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo and other venues in Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.The Games will run from February ⁠6 to 22. 

Christo Popov became the first French player to reach the title match at the World Tour ‌Finals where he faces world champion Shi Yuqi ‌Saturday, while Paris ‍Olympics gold medallist An Se-young set up a women's showpiece clash ⁠with holder Wang Zhiyi.Popov, making ⁠his tournament debut as a singles player, overwhelmed Japan's ‍Kodai Naraoka with his speed and power to win 21-19 21-8 in the semi-finals in Hangzhou."The first game was very important, being very long and winning that made me confident for the second game, and I got more aggressive," Popov said."One thought was ‌getting out of the group stage, which would be a huge thing for me. Now I’m into the final, so ‍I'm happy."Popov is trying to ⁠become the ‌third European to clinch the men's singles title after Danes Anders Antonsen and Viktor Axelsen, with the latter winning a record three times.China's Shi, who is looking to equal Axelsen with a third straight World Tour Finals title, beat Thai world number one Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-16 21-13 in the second semi-final.In the women's semis, South Korean An took just 38 minutes to beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-15 21-12.Bidding ​for a second title ‌at the season-ending championships, An came at the world champion with power and ⁠pace but Yamaguchi ‍repelled the attacks with pinpoint accuracy from the front court.An's pressure eventually told, however, and she kept Yamaguchi off balance to take the match with quick rallies.In the second women's semi-final, Wang, 25, dropped the first game to Ratchanok ​Intanon, who caused the Chinese player all sorts of problems with the variety of her shots.The Thai defended well on the back court but Wang ticked up the aggression to take the second game.Wang's superior fitness began to tell in the third as the 30-year-old Ratchanok tired and the Chinese player emerged with a 15-21 21-17 ⁠21-11 victory to reach the final. (Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena and Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford ) 

Noah Lyles, Armand Duplantis and Faith Kipyegon headline the world championships in Tokyo but it is an opportunity for new stars to emerge and add a freshness to the established order. AFP Sport picks out five prospects who could achieve just that:MenCooper Lutkenhaus (USA)A loaded 800 metres with Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya and Canada's defending title holder Marco Arop makes it one of the standout races -- the American teenager adds even more spice to it. At 16 and 272 days when he runs in his heat he will be the youngest athlete to compete for the USA at a world championships.Lutkenhaus earned his ticket with a brilliant effort to finish second at the US trials in an under-18 world record time of 1min 42.27sec. He has turned professional, signing a contract with Nike -- becoming the youngest American athlete to do so.While his rivals have the advantage of a wealth of experience his coach believes his attitude will help him. "He doesn't make the bad or the good too high or too low," his high school coach Chris Capeau said. "He loves celebration and loves being hyped up about it. But if it's a bad day, he still loves it."Niels Laros (NED)It could be a case of double Dutch in Tokyo – Femke Bol in the women's 400m hurdles and Laros in the 1500m. Laros, 20, is the coming man, and the form one too as he arrives armed with the Diamond League title.There are question marks over Tokyo Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen after an injury-plagued season, his successor as Olympic gold medallist Kyle Hocker and defending world champion Josh Kerr. Laros, who was sixth in the Olympic final, could have opted for the 800m or the 5,000m – both Hocker and Ingebrigtsen are eyeing the 1500m-5000m double – but has decided not to overreach. "In Tokyo I will focus on the 1500m," said Laros. "My coach and I know that there will be high expectations, we want to be realistic. But of course I am dreaming about the podium."Oleh Doroshchuk (UKR)The Dutch may entertain hopes of a track double but the Ukrainians have similar aspirations in the high jump. World record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh is favoured to retain her title and Doroshchuk has an excellent chance of becoming the first man from his country to be crowned champion since Bohdan Bondarenko in 2013.Based on his season so far, Doroshchuk could deliver as Mahuchikh has constantly done since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, giving a welcome morale boost to their compatriots. The 24-year-old comes into the championships after victory in the Brussels Diamond League meet, beating Olympic champion Hamish Kerr, who then avenged that at the Diamond League finals in Zurich.He is building up a medals collection, European outdoors bronze last year and gold in the European indoors earlier this year. The only slight worry is the knee injury he suffered earlier in the season. "The world championships are all I think about. I just want to compete there," he said in July. "From the start, all the work has been done only for this."WomenAudrey Werro (SUI)The 21-year-old could break a glass ceiling for Swiss women and become the first to win an 800m medal in a world or Olympic final. Werro, daughter of a Swiss father and an Ivorian mother, has transferred seamlessly into the senior ranks after an impressive junior career.Twice European Under-20 champion, she won under-20 silver in the 2022 championships in Colombia, and this year won the European Under-23 title. She rounded off her Diamond League campaign in fine style, winning in front of her home crowd in Zurich, becoming the first Swiss woman to lift a Diamond League trophy.Only Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson has run faster than her winning time of 1:55.91 – also a Swiss record – this season. Despite that, she is measured in her ambitions for Tokyo. "I want to make the final and then after that run my best and see what happens."Leyanis Perez (CUB)The 23-year-old has restored some lustre to Cuban women's triple jumping. Her bronze in the 2023 world championships in Budapest ended a 14-year hiatus in terms of medals in the event at the championships. Perez topped that with the world indoor title this year, she is the world leader in the event this season and collected a Diamond League trophy.However, if she is to become the first Cuban to win the women's title since Yargelis Savigne retained her crown in 2009 she might have to battle Venezuelan great and four-time champion Yulimar Rojas, who is still seeking her best form after injury deprived her of the 2024 Olympics. It should be some spectacle and Perez will know the 29-year-old Rojas never gives up, having been present when she won gold in Budapest.

The men’s 400m hurdles is set for another historic showdown in Tokyo, where the three fastest in history — Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos — renew their rivalry with the world record always under threat. Joining them is Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, the Asian record-holder and 2019 world bronze medallist, who has returned to form this season and could disrupt the established trio’s dominance. Samba, who has constantly struggled with injuries, has clocked 47.09 at the Paris Diamond League meeting to finish second behind Benjamin. His personal best is the Asian record of 46.98 he ran in Paris in 2018. But its Warholm, Benjamin and dos Santos who have built a rivalry that has taken their event into a new era. Norway's Warholm is the world record-holder with 45.94 from the Tokyo Olympics, USA's Benjamin was second in that Olympic final in 46.17 and claimed the Olympic crown in Paris, while Brazil's Dos Santos ran a championship record of 46.29 when winning the 2022 world title in Oregon. It has been like this for years. Now they return to Tokyo, four years on from that magnificent Olympic clash in an empty stadium due to the pandemic. They are ready to put on another show, this time with a crowd to watch. Warholm arrives in Tokyo with the world-leading time. He clocked the third-fastest time in history – 46.28 – at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Silesia, just weeks before the World Championships. It is a time that only he and Benjamin have ever beaten. “Hungry for more,” Warholm wrote on social media, sharing a picture of him beside his result on the clock. After that he ran 46.70 to win his third Diamond League title in Zurich. Benjamin’s best this season is 46.54, achieved when winning at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm ahead of Dos Santos and Warholm, while Dos Santos has a season’s best of 46.65, set when winning at the Diamond League event in Eugene ahead of Benjamin. The trio four years ago presented the fastest final in 400m hurdles history, when all three of them went under 46.78 – the time by Kevin Young that had stood as the world record for almost 29 years until Warholm first broke it in Oslo. Since the Warholm coronation in Tokyo, they have been changing positions over time. Dos Santos got gold in 2022 at the World Championships in Oregon in 46.29, and the year after that Warholm won in Budapest with 46.89. At the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, another change: Benjamin dethroned Warholm to win gold. He is the only one among the trio, however, who is yet to claim a world 400m hurdles title. "Everyday breaking records, I guess things are just happening fast,” wrote Benjamin after winning the US title, his final race ahead of Tokyo, while Dos Santos shared photos from his final training sessions to the sounds of a Brazilian rapper named Djonga who sings: "I am not afraid, I am hungry.” Africa is also represented, as Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel ran a national record of 47.31 to finish between Warholm and Samba in Silesia, while Benjamin’s US team-mates Caleb Dean and Chris Robinson have both run 47.76 this year.