Seven-time Olympic medalist Kirsty Coventry was elected in an unopposed race for a spot on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board at the annual IOC session last month in Mumbai, India.
Coventry was voted in by a 71-9 margin, with two abstentions. The 40-year-old from Zimbabwe had previous experience on the Executive Board as chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission from 2018-21.
After her stint with the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Coventry was approved as a full member of the IOC in 2021. She also works on planning committees for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics. According to InsideTheGames.com, Coventry is considered “a likely contender to succeed Thomas Bach as IOC President in 2025,” but some are calling for an Olympic Charter amendment that would allow Bach to run again despite the established term limits.
In September, Coventry was re-appointed as the Sports Minister of Zimbabwe following the controversial reelection of president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa also appointed his son, David, as Deputy Finance Minister and his nephew, Tongai, as Deputy Tourism Minister.
“Whoever was not impressed by her can appoint someone else when they become President,” said Mangagway, whose victory was overshadowed by observers who claim the election failed to adhere to international standards.
Coventry, who won the 200 back at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, is responsible for all-but-one of the country’s Olympic medals all-time; the other was a gold medal in field hockey at the 1980 Olympics. A five-time Olympian for Zimbabwe, she retired from swimming in 2016 following the Rio Games and began a career in politics, becoming Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation in 2018.
Coventry joins the IOC Executive Board featuring Robin Mitchell (Fiji), Denis Oswald (Switzerland), Nenad Lalovic (Serbia), Ivo Ferriani (Italy), Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski (Philippines), Gerardo Werthein, (Argentina), Kristin Kloster (Norway), Emma Terho (Finland), and Prince Feisal Al Husein (Jordan). Coventry is the only representative from Africa.
Coventry had a busy month of October as she was also one of the headliners of the 2023 International Swimming Hall of Fame class along with Michael Phelps.
The scary aspect of the article was a charter amendment allowing Bach to run again. But no doubt it’s true. He owns the same power hungry precedent squashing mindset as Putin and Trump.
And look at all those famous sporting nations represented on the board.
You must be right. No-one from Switzerland has ever achieved anything in sport, apart from Federer and Hingis and many Alpine skiers and plenty of footballers. Serbia – what have they ever done in sport?……..Ok there is Djokovic and plenty of famous footballers. Italy – ok they have produced a few footballers and skiers and swimmers and track and field athletes and…. great competitors in just about every sport. Norway – maybe you haven’t heard of a footballer called Haaland, and literally hundreds of great Winter Olympians. Even a great swimmer in Alexander Dale Oen (RIP). Argentina – Messi and Maradona just for starters. Finland – Paavo Nurmi, one of the greatest Olympians and again hudnreds of Winter Olympians.
I… Read more »
Jordan, Fiji & The Phillipines say hi. And yes – Switzerland, Norway, Finland & Argentina have had some success but it’s not like those countries are a power-house in most of the 20+ Summer Olympic sports.
Perhaps you were demonstrating your own ignorance
KIrsty was a fine swimmer but despite her many, many, many IOC appointments and her position as ‘Minister for Sport (etc)’ in Zimbabwe, she has been accused of being ineffective.
It’s hard to get much news from Zimbabwean media since it’s not exactly free… But the Zimbabwean Football (Soccer) Association which I imagine is one of the most powerful sporting associations there have called her ineffective. And during her time as Minister of Sport, Zimbabwe’s Olympic team declined to its’ smallest number in nearly a century.
What I am wondering is if some of those board members have the sporting experience to do a good job or if they are just professional ‘board… Read more »
Wait, a member of IOC is ineffective?!? No way! Shocking!
I wonder when she last actually visited Zimbabwe – let alone lived there.
If you had read the article you would have read that she is currently a Minister in the Zimbabwean government, so yes, she lives there.
I know she’s been appointed a Minister. I knew that well before this article. But with all of her Olympic appointments over the past decade, I wonder how much time she actually spends there.
Do you have her address?
She deserves it
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftenor.com%2Fview%2Fgood-for-her-arrested-development-lucille-gif-13775712&psig=AOvVaw2M7iOUFS-eFKKPy1-4bCUD&ust=1699676230710000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCKDZvsDJuIIDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
That was an attempt to post a gif. I don’t know how to post them.
How do you do that? Now I’m curious
WDE🦅🦅🦅
The greatest female swimmer from Africa.
Period.
Penny Heyns?
Really? Penny 2 Olympic gold 1 bronze vs Kirsty 2 Olympic gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze.
They are both great, but Penny’s WRs have to be taken into account. She held all 3 breaststroke records at the same time in 1999.
she’s the only woman to win the breast double at the olympics, but missing the podium at 1998 worlds (which was held between the 2 olympics she medaled in) leaves her with no lc worlds medals. coventry has 3 golds and 3 silvers, across 2 wc which were held 4 years apart (plus 2 silvers in 2007). she’s one of 10 people to have won olympic medals in 4 (or more) different individual events, alongside:
michael phelps
shane gould
mark spitz
katie ledecky
katinka hosszu
matt biondi
emma mckeon
sarah sjostrom
kristin otto*
coventry is also the only african in this list
I don’t deny Kirsty was great. I was reacting to the unequivocal nature of Lisa’s comment. Penny is at least a contender for the title of greatest African female swimmer.
Penny Heyns never won World Championship gold.
To be more accurate, Penny Heyns never won World (LCM) Championship medal. Zero world medal.
Coventry – African swimmer of the year 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016. Her 4IM time in 2008 4:29.89 is still top 5 in history (I think).
I’ll say it again, they were both great. But since you raised it, Penny would have won 7 straight African swimmer of the year awards if they had it when she swam, and the LC WR count is 11-4 in her favour.
impressive.
Let’s compare their swimming accomplishments:
PENNY HEYNS
Olympics: 2 golds (100/200 breast), 1 bronze (100 breast)
LC World Championship: zero medal
SC world Championship: 3 bronze
World records: 3 (50-100-200 breast)
KIRSTY COVENTRY
Olympics: 2 golds (2x 200 back), 4 silver (2x 100 back, 200 IM, 400IM), 1 bronze (200IM)
LC world Championship: 3 golds, 5 silver
SC world Championship: 4 golds, 1 bronze
World records: 5
Not only that, Coventry also made finals in her 4th and 5th Olympics (London and Rio). Coventry also made semifinal in her first Olympics in Sydney while still in high school, the first Zimbabwean ever to do so.
Some of these numbers aren’t correct.
Heyns broke 14 World Records in 5 events: LCM 50 BR x 2, SCM 50 BR x 1, LCM 100 BR x 5, SCM 100 BR x 2, LCM 200 BR x 4.
Coventry broke 7 in 5 events: LCM 100 BK x 1, LCM 200 BK x 3, SCM 200 BK x 1, SCM 200IM x 1, SCM 400IM x 1.
All of Coventry’s were super suited and none of Heyns’s were.
I agree that I rate Coventry above Heyns but you need to be accurate and not manipulate data to suit you. And I do feel that records set in a super suit that were broken soon after are worth less, and… Read more »
I’m not disagreeing with you but a lot of supersuit times are still top 5 in history
Interesting list…would make a good chat topic.
Let’s compare their swimming accomplishments:
PENNY HEYNS
Olympics: 2 golds (100/200 breast), 1 bronze (100 breast)
LC World Championship: zero medal
SC world Championship: 3 bronze
World records: 3 (50-100-200 breast)
KIRSTY COVENTRY
Olympics: 2 golds (2x 200 back), 4 silver (2x 100 back, 200 IM, 400IM), 1 bronze (200IM)
LC world Championship: 3 golds, 5 silver
SC world Championship: 4 golds, 1 bronze
World records: 5
Not only that, Coventry also made finals in her 4th and 5th Olympics (London and Rio)
Penny set 11 LC WRs. Kirsty set 4.
Heyns set 14 and Coventry set 7, actually
My figures are LC. You are including the SC records.