By Nick Butler at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo

Two time Winter Olympic skeleton athlete Adam Pengilly has warned that athletes should be considering before moving Olympic venues ©Getty ImagesMaintaining a strong athletes' experience must be a priority when assessing potential changes to venues for the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Adam Pengilly has warned.


It follows plans to reportedly move the sliding sports venue in Pyeongchang outside South Korea to Japan, or even farther afield to Europe, in a bid to reduce the costs of constructing a new venue. 

One of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations passed here on Monday (December 8), allowing "the organisation of entire sports and disciplines outside the host city or, in exceptional cases, outside the host country notably for reasons of geography and sustainability", appears to make this possible, although it is not yet clear how this will work in practice.

Pengilly, who competed in skeleton at Turin 2006 and Vancouver 2010 and now serves on the Pyeongchang 2018 Coordination Commission, claimed the idea of moving the sliding events outside South Korea is far from being finalised. 

"The Organising Committee are keen to put the sliding sports in Pyeongchang and the international federations (IFs) are as well, but I think the IFs are also pragmatic and aware that Agenda 2020 has opened up the possibility, in exceptional standards, for sports to move," the Briton told insidethegames.

"That's one of the challenges that Agenda 2020 has thrown up.

"It's almost made less clarity in the shorter term because it gives people more options and opportunity."

Designs for the proposed Pyeongchang 2018 sliding sports venue were unveiled in March ©Gangwon ProvinceDesigns for the proposed Pyeongchang 2018 sliding sports venue were unveiled in March ©Gangwon Province



The 37-year-old, a silver medallist at the 2009 World Championships before retiring in 2012 following his election to the IOC Athletes' Commission, then outlined the importance of keeping athletes at the forefront.

"The perfect world, in which none of us live, would be one Village and everyone within a ten minute drive to their venue, is not feasible anywhere in the world," he said.

"So we have to be realistic and work on the principals that are important.

"Short travel distances are crucial, being able to go to Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremony's and hopefully having a bed at the main Village so they do not have to travel a long way home afterwards late at night.

"They have to have a unique Olympic Games experience rather than a World Championship experience."

Athletes must still be able to attend events like the Opening Ceremony of an Olympics ©Getty ImagesAthletes must still be able to attend events like the Opening Ceremony of an Olympics, Pengilly insisted ©Getty Images



Strong criticism has already been voiced in South Korea at the prospect of events being held overseas, despite the concerns over costing, with Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon claiming "it as against national sentiment to remove some of the events to Japan or any other country at this point".

Both the Korean Olympic Committee and Pyeongchang 2018 have also outlined their determination to avoid relinquishing hosting rights.

Following Agenda 2020, changes will be possible for all Games, with Tokyo 2020 thought to be considering moving as many as 14 sports to new venues farther afield. 

But concerns were also voiced by other IOC members during the question and answer stage of discussions during the Session.

Pakistan's Syed Shahid Ali warned about consequential increases on the cost of travel, while Switzerland's Denis Oswald said that, by "scattering" events among several different areas, the Athletes' Village will cease to resemble what it has looked like previously.