Open Letter to the IOC: Urgent Call for Fair and Transparent Enforcement of Olympic Selection Criteria
8 December 2025
Kirsty Coventry, President
CC:
Christophe de Kepper, Director General
Emma Tehro, Chair IOC Athlete Commission
International Olympic Committee
Subject: Urgent Call for Fair and Transparent Enforcement of Olympic Selection Criteria
Dear Ms. Coventry,
We write to you as a collective of over 60 current and retired athletes from around the world. We are individuals who have devoted our lives to the pursuit of excellence and the honour of representing our countries on the world’s greatest sporting stage, the Olympic Games.
It is with concern and growing frustration that we raise the issue of inconsistent and opaque selection practices by National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Federations (NFs) in direct contradiction to the universal qualification standards set by the IOC. While the IOC has developed clear eligibility and qualification criteria intended to ensure fairness and universality, these are often disregarded or manipulated by NOCs and/or NFs who favour subjective, non-transparent processes that leave athletes confused, disillusioned, and excluded from participation.
Across multiple sports and nations, we are seeing a pattern where athletes who have met the Olympic qualification criteria are being removed from contention, sometimes at the very last minute, with little or no justification. In many cases, these decisions are driven by favoritism, internal politics, or self-interest rather than merit or performance. These actions are not only unjust, but they rob athletes of the opportunity they have worked towards for years, sometimes decades.
This letter is purely intended to help the system, not to undermine it. We are speaking out because we care about the Olympic Movement and we want to participate in and uphold a sporting landscape that values fairness, transparency and accountability. We will never get our rightful Olympic spots back, but we are committed to ensuring that every athlete who has rightfully qualified for the Olympic Games makes it there.
We are also concerned by the lack of support available to athletes when challenging unjust selection decisions. Most athletes have very limited resources to defend themselves, while National Olympic Committees, National Federations and International Federations benefit from extensive institutional and financial support. Compounding this imbalance is a pervasive culture of fear that prevents many athletes from speaking out. The fear of retribution is real and ever-present, keeping athletes silent while allowing a flawed and damaging system to persist. Stronger and enforceable athlete rights must be embedded into the Olympic Movement now – athletes are the very reasons the Games exist, and we can no longer accept symbolic reforms that lack real impact.
We therefore urge the IOC to take immediate and meaningful steps to:
Enforce compliance among NOCs and NFs with the IOC’s established qualification criteria.
Mandate transparency in selection processes, including clear communication of criteria and timely notification of decisions.
Provide an independent and free appeal mechanism for athletes who believe they have been unfairly excluded despite meeting qualification standards.
Ensure accountability for NOCs and NFs that violate the principles of fair and equal opportunity.
The Olympic Games should be the pinnacle of global sport, founded on merit, integrity, and the universal values of fairness and equality. Allowing opaque and biased national selection practices to persist erodes trust in the system and undermines the very foundation of the Olympic Movement.
We respectfully request your leadership in ensuring that politics, self-interest and favoritism do not trump athletes’ dedication to excellence and commitment to fair play.
For media inquiries, contact media@globalathlete.org
Sincerely,
The below signed athletes
Emil Bengtson — Sailing — Sweden — Current Athlete
Baabii’o Flower — Sailing — Canada — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — France — Current Athlete
Campbell Patton — Sailing — Bermuda — Current Athlete
Lorenzo Cerretelli — Sailing — Italy — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing (ILCA 7) — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Svante Nilo Bengtsson — Sailing — Sweden — Current Athlete
Albin Boman — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Giuseppe Cavalli — Sailing — Italy — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Italy — Retired Athlete
Thomas Wolfgang Mueller — Sailing — Germany — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Netherlands — Current Athlete
Cristina Pujol Bajo — Sailing — Spain — Retired Athlete
Juan Curbelo Cabrera — Sailing — Spain — Retired Athlete
Barbara Cornudella — Sailing (470) — Spain — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Spain — Retired Athlete
Roger Schulz — Sailing — Germany — Current Athlete
Patrick Wachholz — Sailing — Canada — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Spain — Current Athlete
Roberto Bini — Sailing — Italy — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing (ILCA) — Switzerland — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Argentina — Current Athlete
Markus Ochs — Sailing — Switzerland — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — United States — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Lithuania — Current Athlete
Björne Väggö — Fencing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Athletics — Sweden — Coach
Anonymous — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Poland — Current Athlete
Ingvar Bengtson — Yachting/Sailing — Sweden — Coach/Retired Athlete
Anonymous — ILCA — Switzerland — Retired Athlete
Henrik Eriksson — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Badminton — Sweden — Current Athlete
Diego Ewinger — ILCA 7 Sailing — Antigua & Barbuda — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Track & Sailing — Antigua/Germany — Retired Athlete
Ferruccio Arvedi — Sailing — Switzerland — Current Athlete
Anders Wennberg — ILCA Sailing — Sweden — Current Athlete
Rebecka Hallerth — Athletics — Sweden — Current Athlete
Matthew Cox — Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air — Australia — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Freestyle Snowboarding — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Loranne Smans — Snowboarding — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Nicolas Huber — Snowboard Slopestyle/Big Air — Switzerland — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Current Athlete
Mina Libeer — Judo — Belgium — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Football — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Current Athlete
Anonymous — Judo — Belgium — Retired Athlete
Simon Lundmark — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Martin Säfström — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Kristian Sundborn — Sailing — Sweden — Current Athlete
Mustafa Mohamed — Athletics — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Karin Torneklint — Athletics — Sweden — Coach
Albin Boman — Sailing — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Athletics — Sweden — Coach
Helene Sjögren — Horsejumping — Sweden — Coach
David Lewander — Golf & Hockey — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Anonymous — Ice Hockey — Sweden — Current Athlete
Lovisa Lindh — Athletics — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Klara Bodinson — Athletics — Sweden — Retired Athlete
Louis Heyer — Athletics — SUI / SVK / GER / POL / NED / SWE — Coach
Yannick Tregaro — Athletics — Sweden — Coach
Anonymous — Athletics — Swedish — Coach
Vidar Johansson — Athletics — Sweden — Current Athlete
Per Skoog — Track & Field — Sweden — Coach