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 reelection of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
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.
