Kirsty Coventry made history as the first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in March. The 41-year-old Zimbabwean, who succeeded former President Thomas Bach, made a commitment to transform lives and promote hope during a formal ceremony to mark her taking office this week.
“We are guardians of the Olympic movement,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other stakeholders, according to The Guardian. “And it’s not just about a multi-sport event. It’s a platform to inspire. It’s a platform to change lives. And it’s a platform to bring hope.”
Reflecting on how her life had also been changed by the Olympics, Coventry said, “I was very fortunate to have strong women around me from a very early age, from my grandmothers to my mom, to many of you women here in this room today, to my coach, Kim.”
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In March, she easily defeated seven other candidates to take Bach’s place. The handover ceremony was held on Olympic Day, which commemorates the inauguration of the modern edition of the Games in 1894.
Coventry presented Bach with the Olympic Order in gold at the ceremony at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Bach also gave her the golden key to the IOC.
“You have placed your trust in someone whose life story is deeply rooted in the Olympic movement. As an Olympian, she knows what it means to live the Olympic values,” Bach said, according to Africa News.
“She knows how to lead with courage. She is driven by a desire to give back to our Olympic movement that has shaped her life. Now she makes history.”
Coventry thanked the more than 700 assembled guests—including IOC members, athletes, Olympic Movement representatives, delegates from international organisations, political leaders, and IOC staff.
“I am really honoured that I get to walk this journey with you and I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead, because I know I have the best team to support me and our movement in these next eight years,” she said.
Coventry was born in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe (previously Rhodesia), according to the IOC. At the age of two, she began swimming under the guidance of her mother and grandfather, and at six, she joined her first swimming club. Coventry, whose family was athletic, showed a spirit of competition from a young age.
Because Zimbabwe does not have indoor pools, she spent the winter months participating in school sports such as field hockey, cross-country running, and tennis. But her happiest moments were in the pool.
Coventry’s extraordinary Olympic experience began when she was 9 years old, watching the Olympic Games at Barcelona 1992 on television. The images of the amazing outdoor swimming pool and breathtaking scenery left an impression on her.
“Something about it just caught my eye,” she said. “I told my parents, ‘I just want to go to the Olympic Games one day and win Zimbabwe a gold medal.’”
At the age of 14, Coventry dislocated her knee while playing hockey, so she chose to concentrate only on swimming. She trained diligently and qualified for the first of her five Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 at the age of sixteen. She made history as the first swimmer from Zimbabwe to make it to the Olympic semifinals, despite not taking home a medal from her four Sydney competitions.
Four years later, Coventry was in Athens, where she won three medals and became the first Zimbabwean athlete to win an individual gold medal after winning the 200-meter backstroke.
She won four more medals in Beijing in 2008, including three silvers and another gold in the 200-meter backstroke.
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She participated in two more Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and London before ending her career after the 2016 Games. She won seven medals overall, including two gold, at the end of her Olympic swimming career, more than any other African competitor. Looking back, Coventry believes that the Olympic Solidarity scholarship grant was a major factor in her accomplishment.
She was a student at Auburn University in Alabama, USA, where she supported the “Tigers” to win three NCAA titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004. She earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management from Auburn.
In 2013, Coventry joined the IOC as an athlete. From 2018 to 2021, she served on the Executive Board and chaired the Athletes’ Commission. In 2021, she became an individual member on the Executive Board, and in 2023, she was re-elected to the Executive Board. Coventry came home to Zimbabwe when her swimming career ended, with the goal to contribute to the community.
She established the Kirsty Coventry Academy to train young swimmers. Together with her manager, Tyrone Seward, whom she married in 2010, they started a program to provide a safe environment for children aged 6 to 13 to participate in sports.
When Coventry was named Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation in 2018, she advocated for laws to stop sexual harassment, abuse, and match-fixing in sports.
Now, Coventry will lead the IOC through the next eight years, including the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
