Coventry takes the helm

The story was announced on March 20 and materialized yesterday. The story is named after Kirsty Coventry, who won the International Olympic Committee elections three months ago and yesterday took over the IOC leadership after a ceremony exchanging powers with the outgoing president, German Thomas Bach. The first woman to lead the institution and the youngest (41 years old) since its founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, is already serving as Olympic Pope. Today she will meet with the other IOC members to define her roadmap, and tomorrow and the day after she will meet with the Executive Board.

"I want to be remembered as someone who didn't change while serving as president of the Olympic movement, who maintained her values, who worked collaboratively with her colleagues, and who was always humble and approachable," Coventry reasoned.

He has eight years of mandate ahead of him and a potential re-election for four more.

Zimbabwe receives from Bach a healthy IOC with the next Games venues stipulated

The former Zimbabwean swimmer and seven-time Olympic medalist is eager to give a voice to all the leaders, including Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who will chair one of the sessions today.

Coventry has received from Bach a healthy IOC, with the next Olympic venues already slated and the key contract with American broadcaster NBC signed until 2036. But it faces major challenges. Indeed, the world is not the same as it was three months ago, with the escalating war in the Middle East and domestic turmoil in the United States, as recently seen in Los Angeles, with the military's entry on the orders of President Donald Trump. As the 2028 Olympic host, one of Coventry's first diplomatic steps would be to arrange a meeting with Trump. "I've been dealing with powerful men since I was 20, and what I've learned is that communication is key," the Zimbabwean stated.

“I never imagined I would be here”

Kirsty Coventry took office yesterday as the tenth president in the history of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the first woman to hold the position. The inauguration was handed over by former President Thomas Bach in a ceremony held in Lausanne, Switzerland. “When I was nine years old, I never imagined I would be standing here in front of you, with the opportunity to give back to our incredible movement what it has given me,” Coventry said in her first speech as president of the governing body. After leaving the ceremony, Bach stated that the IOC members had “sent a very strong message to the world” by electing the former Zimbabwean sports minister. After joining the Athletes’ Commission in 2013, Coventry is a powerful symbol of the IOC’s transformation. “She reflects the truly global nature of our movement and its youthful focus,” concluded the former president. “We have an athlete leading the organization. That’s a positive thing,” remarked Britain’s Sebastian Coe.

Another hot potato for the new president will be to address at some point the thorny issue of Russian sports, banned from the Olympics after the start of the war with Ukraine. With less than a year to go until the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, it's likely that things will be like they were in Paris. That is, Russians will participate in some individual events under a neutral flag. That is, unless a lasting peace is signed between Russia and Ukraine.

Transgender athletes, Trump's relationship with Los Angeles, and the Russian dossier: Coventry's challenges

Coventry joined the fins commission in 2013, rising through the ranks, first becoming the executive and then chair of the coordination committee for the Brisbane 2032 Games.

Now is the time for her to make her mark at the head of the IOC. A mother of two daughters, the second barely seven months old, Coventry moved judiciously behind the scenes without revealing her cards. From now on, it's her turn to reveal them. She will have to do so, for example, on the issue of transgender or intersex athletes, a topic that provokes conflicting opinions. The exclusive club of global Olympism is in flux.