
KIRSTY Coventry, the former Olympic swimmer and current IOC presidential candidate, claims her experience makes her best suited to take over Thomas Bach’s chair in June.
However, her controversial tenure as Sports minister casts doubt on her ability to translate athletic success into effective leadership.
"It is important that the president of the IOC has been a top athlete who understands sport," Coventry told Spanish news agency EFE in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. A seven-time Olympic medallist (two golds, four silvers and one bronze) between 2004 and 2008, Coventry competed in five Olympic Games (2000 to 2016). She and Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, are the only Olympic champions among the seven candidates for the IOC presidency. "I am an athlete, a sports administrator and a two-time Olympic gold medallist, which proves that I can lead the Olympic Games," she said.
Coventry is Africa's most decorated Olympian and Zimbabwe's most celebrated athlete. The “Golden Girl” won the 200m backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, accounting for all but one of the country's Olympic medals — the only other being a gold in women's field hockey in 1980. Her appointment as Zimbabwe's Sports minister in 2018 was greeted with enthusiasm, but her tenure quickly proved disappointing. Under her leadership, the country's sports sector suffered from chronic underfunding, crumbling infrastructure and political interference.
In February 2022, Fifa banned Zimbabwe from international football after the government-appointed Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) in violation of Fifa’s policy against third-party interference. Zimbabwe was excluded from qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations and Fifa froze funding to Zifa. Coventry defended the decision, saying Zifa officials had mismanaged government funds and engaged in sexual harassment, but board members accused her of misleading the public.
In 2020, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) banned Zimbabwean stadiums from hosting international matches due to inadequate facilities. Poor maintenance, unsafe spectator areas, inadequate drainage, lack of sanitation and lack of doping control and medical facilities were among the problems cited. Despite Zimbabwe's return to international football, the situation remains dire, with national and club teams forced to play their home matches abroad. Coventry claimed that bucket seats had been purchased to bring Harare's National Sports Stadium up to Caf standards, but they are yet to be installed.
The impact of poor infrastructure has been severe, limiting Zimbabwe's ability to participate in and host international sporting events. Despite her troubled first term, Coventry was reappointed minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2023. Critics, including Zimbabwe's only Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Themba "The Answer" Gorimbo, have been vocal. Once one of her supporters, Gorimbo has since called her "the worst Sports minister in history" and blamed her for the decline of Zimbabwean
sport.
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At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Zimbabwe's delegation sparked controversy when government reportedly sent 74 officials and dignitaries despite only fielding nine athletes.
Critics accused the officials of exploiting public funds, a claim denied by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, which insisted that only 10 officials were officially part of the delegation. However, reports emerged that Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and Coventry travelled by private jet, raising concerns about government spending at a time when the nation was seeking drought relief.
Zimbabwe sent just four more athletes to Paris than they did to Tokyo 2020, where they failed to win a medal for the fourth year in a row. This was a sharp decline from the 31 athletes who competed at Rio 2016, making it Zimbabwe's smallest Olympic delegation since the 1928 Games in Amsterdam (two).
The 2024 team included marathon runners Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora, rower Stephen Cox, swimmers Dennis Cyprianos and Paige van der Weisthuizen and sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu. The two sprinters made history by becoming Zimbabwe's first 200m finalists since Brian Dzingai in Beijing 2008.
Despite Coventry's storied swimming career, Zimbabwe's swimming programme has stagnated since her retirement. At the Tokyo Olympics, Peter Wetzlar finished 42nd in the 100m freestyle, while Donata Katai was 34th in the 100m backstroke. At Paris 2024, Paige van der Weisthuizen finished 25th in the 100m freestyle.
A member of the IOC since 2013, Coventry previously chaired the Athletes' Commission and currently heads the co-ordination commissions for the Dakar 2026 and Brisbane 2036 Games. She is the only female candidate for the presidency and only the second woman in history to run for the role, following Anita DeFrantz in 2001 when Jacques Rogge was elected.
In a recent Press conference with the International Sport Press Association, Coventry argued that her ability to juggle multiple roles — mother, minister and athlete advocate — gave her an edge in the race for the IOC presidency. But her campaign has struggled to gain traction. Her manifesto has been criticised as uninspiring and her limited campaigning has left her trailing behind more politically-experienced candidates such as Coe and Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. While she is well-liked and enjoys Bach’s tacit support, she has yet to generate significant momentum. Some media have dubbed her ‘The Crown Princess’ of the German incumbent. "He will be the honorary president of the IOC and it will be beneficial to learn from his experience in running the organisation," she
said.
Her campaign slogan, “Ubuntu” — an African philosophy meaning "I am because we are" — emphasises working together yet had already been publicly used in the NBA by Boston Celtics coach Doc River on the way to winning the 2008 basketball championship. "That's the basis of my manifesto. I want this to be a collective effort," she said.
Coventry said her candidacy was in line with the IOC's ongoing efforts to promote gender equality. "Becoming the first female president would be the best way to continue to promote gender equality in coaching, administration and leadership in sport," Coventry said.
But while her Olympic credentials are undeniable, her tenure as Zimbabwe's Sports minister raises concerns about her leadership with her inability to improve her home country’s sports infrastructure and governance — despite her influence — suggesting that she may lack the political acumen to lead the IOC effectively.