On June 23, 2025, Kirsty Coventry received the symbolic key to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne from her predecessor Thomas Bach.Image: keystone
The Winter Games in Milan and Cortina will be opened for the first time by Kirsty Coventry. Her election last year was historic, but it is controversial in her native Zimbabwe.
Feb 3, 2026, 2:51 p.mFeb 3, 2026, 2:51 p.m
As Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe last year at a luxury resort in Greece at the age of 41 was elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).she set several “records”: She is the first woman, the youngest person to date and the first from Africa to head the world’s most powerful sports association.
None of her male predecessors were able to demonstrate a similar sports palmarès as the former top swimmer. She won seven Olympic medals, including two gold medals in her flagship event, the 200 meter backstroke: in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. Your election to the top of the IOC can truly be described as historic.
In Beijing in 2008, Kirsty Coventry became Olympic champion in the 200 meter backstroke.Image: keystone
On Friday, Coventry will open her first Games as IOC head in Milan. On Sunday she tried to speak to the media To avoid or smooth over controversies. «The preparations are going very well. “Everything is exactly as it should be,” she explained, although at some competition venues should be built until the last minute.
OC boss in the Epstein files
She took a similar approach to the one planned by the US government Deployment of ICE agents in Italy or the personality Casey Wasserman. The name of the head of organization for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles appeared in the Epstein files. “Anything that distracts from these games is sad. But something like this has always existed,” said Coventry.
She also remained tight-lipped about Russia’s return to the “Olympic family”. Previous IOC presidents, not least Kirsty Coventry’s predecessor Thomas Bach, already had the ability to “snavel past” controversial topics in slalom style. But the new boss was able to “train” herself at home.
Mugabe’s “Golden Girl”
The mother of two was born in Harare in 1983. Only three years earlier, the former Rhodesia had officially become independent after the previously ruling white minority gave up power. Robert Mugabe became the new strong man, changing from a bearer of hope to a despot during his long-term rule.
The white Zimbabweans felt this, especially the farmers, some of whom were driven off their land with brute force. Kirsty Coventry, on the other hand, was effectively protected by her status as a sports heroine. Mugabe called her his “Golden Girl” and she repeatedly received large cash rewards from the coffers of a virtually bankrupt state.
Sports minister with no experience
This is shown by a documentary released last Friday was broadcast by ARD (Not available in the “normal” way in this country due to geoblocking). She shows the image of an athlete who knew how to adapt smoothly to the balance of power. In 2017, Mugabe was overthrown by former ally Emmerson Mnangagwa.
After initially timid optimism, the new ruler (nicknamed “the crocodile”) developed into an even worse despot than his predecessor. But Kirsty Coventry became sports minister in Mnangagwa’s government, with no leadership experience. Their record is viewed negatively by the opposition members who are still free.
National stadium as a construction site
“She joined a government that she knew had blood on its hands,” said former finance minister Tendai Biti to ARD. “You want yes-men. If you are not a yes man, you have no place in the government,” added Beatrice Mtetwa, a human rights lawyer. Coventry described her as the “worst sports minister” in the country.
After being appointed Sports Minister in 2018, Kirsty Coventry is congratulated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.Image: EPA
The reality is a little more nuanced. Coventry made the sexual assaults of several high-ranking football officials public. But football in particular is a sensitive topic. The national stadium in Harare, which is the only one that meets FIFA requirements, has been a construction site for years. The national team cannot therefore play home games.
The “gift” farm
Beatrice Mtetwa blames the former sports minister for this. And there’s the matter of the farm that Coventry and her husband received as a “gift” from the government. It had previously belonged to, of all people, a nephew of former ruler Robert Mugabe. He sued in vain and fled into exile in Zambia.
The IOC President did not want to give an interview to ARD. After her election last summer, she commented on the criticism of her homeland and her work as sports minister: “Things are improving, things are moving forward. It takes time, but I know that the work I have done in Zimbabwe will benefit the welfare of Zimbabwe’s youth.”
“Blurring” of sports
This supple opportunism qualified Kirsty Coventry for her new position, even in the opinion of her predecessor Thomas Bach. She was his preferred successor and won with an absolute majority in the first round of voting despite well-known competition, including from Sebastian Coe, the President of the International Athletics Federation.
Ready for her first games: Kirsty Coventry at the media conference in Milan on Sunday.Image: keystone
After her election, she set up several working groups to look at possible reforms of the IOC and the Olympic Games. This involves sensitive topics such as dealing with trans people or the “blurring” of sports. For example, cycling and cross-country running could be included in the Winter Games program in the future.
Reforms are delayed
The awarding of the games is also under review, which could be interesting for Switzerland and its candidacy for 2038. The reforms are expected to be discussed at the IOC session on Tuesday and Wednesday in Milan, but Coventry asked for patience on Sunday. There will probably only be concrete results in the second half of the year.
Reforms are a sensitive issue in the IOC. Thomas Bach’s predecessor Jacques Rogge had been worn down by the elite body’s resistance to reform. The German Olympic fencing champion showed little willingness to change during his twelve years in office. Will this change under Kirsty Coventry? Doubts are appropriate.