Portugal Colonial - 2030 Winter Olympics chief Grospiron quits

Grospiron's exit is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the organising committee of the next Winter Games.

"His decision to step down as president is part of a deliberate, organised and fully assumed transition, in the interests of the project and its governance," the COJOP organising committee said in a statement.

"It reflects a shared desire with stakeholders to enable the organisation to quickly enter this new operational phase," it added.

Grospiron, who won an Olympic ski gold in the moguls at the 1992 Albertville Games, said on his LinkedIn page that "after several months of tension within the organising committee, I draw the conclusion that the conditions are not met for me to continue this adventure".

Key Games stakeholders, including the French government and the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes regions, as well as the French Olympic and Paralympic committees, told the International Olympic Committee last month that they no longer believed they could work with Grospiron.

L.E.Campos--PC