Fuming Olympics president Kirsty Coventry threatens her £420,000-a-year PR chief with the sack mid-press conference after being blindsided with questions about Germany’s fears over hosting Games on Nazi anniversary

International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry found herself in the middle of a bizarre press conference in which she threatened to ‘sack’ her ‘team’ for not informing them of the questions to expect.

Instead of seeing off their first Winter Games basking in their success, Coventry reacted badly to questions about FIFA president and IOC member Gianni Infantino joining Donald Trump’s peace council; The potential for the Olympic Games to be held in Germany in 2036, exactly 100 years after the Nazi Olympics, and developments regarding Russia’s systemic doping problems at the Sochi Winter Olympics.

He claimed he was blindsided by these questions and blamed it on a team including £420,000-a-year communications chief Mark Adams.

On each occasion, Coventry said his staff did not keep him informed of developments and, in frustration, said someone should be sacked.

Interestingly, Adams, the long-serving IOC communications chief, was recently linked with a move to work for his friend Sir Keir Starmer following the resignation of the Prime Minister’s communications director Tim Allan.

IOC communications chief Mark Adams was recently linked with working for Sir Keir Starmer

However, Adams, who has a generous salary of around £420,000, may not be keen on changing bosses despite Coventry’s implosion having to happen behind closed doors.

Coventry, who became the first woman and African to be elected IOC President last year, was speaking at a press conference on Friday, the same day German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it would not be appropriate for the country to host the 2036 Olympics as it would be exactly 100 years after Nazi Germany hosted the games.

When asked about the IOC’s views on this matter, Coventry said: ‘Obviously I’m looking at my team because I wasn’t aware that Germany had made any comments in and around 2036. So I don’t really have an opinion on that.’

Shortly after this, another reporter asked Coventry about ‘a known whistleblower who reported to WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) that the current head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency was directly involved in widespread doping around the Sochi Games’ and ‘they have information that the IOC is aware of this’.

To which Coventry responded: ‘Okay, I actually look at my team and maybe someone needs to be sacked because I don’t realize that either. “I mean, but I’d love to learn more about it,” he said.

Adding to his frustration was another question that added to his frustration when IOC member and FIFA president Infantino was asked whether he would be investigated for his involvement in what was described as a “clearly political incident” in which he held up the contract he signed with the Peace Board while wearing a red “USA” cap.

Adams and Coventry were photographed together at a happier press conference last year

Athletes salute at the 1936 Olympics in Germany – as the 100th anniversary approaches

Coventry replied: ‘Again, I wasn’t aware of this. Now that you’ve made us aware of it, we’ll come back and then of course take a look at it.

‘The Olympic Charter is very clear about what it expects from its members.’

An IOC spokesman has since said that Infantino’s presence with United States President Donald Trump and other heads of state at the opening meeting of the Peace Board this week did not violate any rules of the Olympic Charter on political neutrality.

Coventry, who was elected IOC president by defeating Lord Sebastian Coe in March last year, became a very notable name in the Winter Olympics.

He choked up as he told reporters it was ‘an emotional morning’ as Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was kicked out of the Olympics during one of the most controversial periods in Games history.

Coventry was also asked whether it would investigate IOC member Infantino for wearing a red ‘USA’ hat.

Heraskevych refused to replace the helmet depicting victims of the Russian occupation, and Olympic chiefs left no leeway in their rules on political messages.

‘I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I thought it was really important to come here and talk to him face to face. “No one, least of all me, opposes this message, it is a powerful message, it is a message of remembrance, of memory,” Coventry said.

‘The challenge was finding a solution for the playground. Unfortunately we could not find this solution. I really wanted to see him compete. ‘It was an emotional morning.’

At the closing ceremony on Sunday, the 42-year-old former Zimbabwean swimmer hailed the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics as ‘a new standard for the future’.

‘You have introduced a new kind of Winter Games and set a new standard for the future,’ he said.