Warming climate should be top priority, Olympians urge IOC presidential hopefuls

Canadian freestyle skier Philippe Marquis has always felt most at home in the mountains, his playground a postcard of snow-capped beauty.

But the two-time Olympian has watched the place he loves most change over his time in the sport, all because of a warming climate. Less than a decade ago, he would train into the summer months on Horstman Glacier in Whistler. No more. The glacier was closed to summer skiing and snowboarding last year due to a lack of snow.

Now a coach with Freestyle Skiing Canada's NextGen program in moguls, Marquis said athletes have been forced to rely on man-made snow, which is harder and icier than natural powder and can be tough on athletes' bodies. Schedules have been thrown in a blender by weather-related changes, and with that, Marquis said the cost to compete has increased.

"Seeing the changes around the world is something that I'm very scared of, and it's something that is really affecting me and the sport I dearly love," Marquis, who chairs the Canadian Olympic Committee's athletes' commission, said in an interview with CBC Sports.

He's one of more than 400 athletes across the world who have signed a letter to the candidates vying to become the new International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, urging them to make climate their number-one priority.

IOC members from across the world will gather in Greece next week for the IOC Session, where they will elect a new president among seven candidates. The candidates made their case privately to members at a closed-door event in Switzerland in January, with only 15 minutes each to lay out their vision.

Some have emphasized the climate more than others in their public platforms: Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski Federation,