IOC was the first time a woman became the head: that Coventry said about Ukraine and the invasion of the Russian Federation
Coventry will be replaced by President Thomas Bach, who was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2021. The newly elected President will exceed his powers on June 23, 2025. It will smoke Winter Olympic Games-2026 in Milan and Cortin. In February 2023, Kirsti Coventry said in a comment to the Inside the Games that she supported Thomas Bach's position on the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to sports competitions and admission to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
"After all, our Olympic values are to be open and greet everyone, so I agree that this is the first step, and let's see how it will be next," she said. In an interview for Fox Sports on March 19, 2025, Coventry said that the approach during games in Paris was "ideal". "I believe that what we saw in Paris was very fair. We said that athletes from Belarus and Russia, who openly supported the war, will not be invited.
This returns to the principle of trying to ensure the safety of all game participants," she said. In a conversation with DW, published on March 20, Coventry also said she found it necessary to give all athletes the opportunity to participate in the Olympiad. "It will look different for different athletes, but I finally think we need to find a way to solve questions with athletes from conflict areas," she said. Journalists noted that Coventry relied on her experiences from Zimbabwe.
During her sports career, the country was under international sanctions due to a political crisis. In her new election program, the president emphasized that geopolitics and sports inevitably intersect, but she considers one of its priorities to preserve the IOC neutrality. "Mok neutrality has long been his strength, which allows him to overcome geopolitical differences and serve as a force that unites.
Recent conflicts and changing alliances emphasized the need for a principled but adaptive approach to navigation in these difficulties. In the Coventry program. Kirsty Coventry was born in the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare. As a fuel, she participated in five Olympic Games. From the debut at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 to the last performance in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, she won two gold, four silver and one bronze Olympic medals (gold won 200 m on her back in Athens-2004 and in Beijing-2008).
In addition, Coventry won three gold medals of the World Cup and four titles of World Water Championships in short water, the Commonwealth Games and 14 gold medals of African Games for her professional career. Currents are now a member of the IOC and holds the position of Ministry of Sports, Arts and Recreation in Zimbabwe since 2018. She has also been elected Chairman of the IOC athlete commission since 2018. From 2017 to 2024 she was a vice -resident of the International Surfing Federation.