IOC chief laments 'distracting' news cycle ahead of 2026 Winter Olympics

While she tried to deflect, Coventry did say it was "sad" that the stories were taking attention away from the Olympics.

"I think anything that is distracting from these Games is sad, right? But we've learned over the many years… there's always been something that has taken the lead, leading up to the Games," she said. "Whether it has been Zika, COVID, there has always been something.

"But what is keeping my faith alive is that when that opening ceremony happens and those athletes start competing, suddenly the world remembers the magic and the spirit that the Games have and they get to suddenly remember what's actually important and they get to be inspired and so we're really looking forward to that."

"From all the information that we have and I believe that the U.S. authorities, as the other authorities, have made all the clarifications needed, so from our side that's not for us to further comment on that part of the security. But we're really looking forward to the games," Coventry said of ICE.

"We didn't discuss it yesterday and I believe Mr. Wasserman has put out his statement and we now have nothing further to add," she said.

Coventry added that the focus has been on Milan Cortina.

The Winter Olympics begin Friday with the opening ceremony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.