Costa Navarino (Greece) (AFP) – New IOC chief Kirsty Coventry said on Thursday that “communication will be key” with US President Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Coventry, the first woman and African to be elected to the most powerful role in sports governance, added: “I have been dealing with, let’s say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old.” The Zimbabwean, who at 41 is also the youngest person to be elected to the position, expressed confidence that Trump would put all his weight behind the staging of the 2028 Games.
The 1984 Los Angeles Games were boycotted by the Soviet Union, then-East Germany, and Cuba, and some observers have speculated that the 2028 Olympics could be susceptible to boycotts owing to Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy. Coventry does have political experience as she is Zimbabwe’s sports minister, a point that was criticized during her campaign, particularly as the 2023 election of the government was declared unfair and undemocratic. She stated that she would be stepping down from her ministerial role.
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“My firm belief is that President Trump is a huge lover of sports; he will want these games to be significant, he will want them to be a success,” said Coventry. “We will not waver from our values and our values of solidarity and ensuring every athlete that qualifies for the Olympic Games has the possibility to attend the Olympic Games and be safe.” She added that on the thorny issue of transgender athletes—Trump has said there are only two genders, male and female—the IOC would stand its ground. “So in terms of Donald Trump, again, it’s going to take communication,” she said.
“As I just said, we’re going to create a task force that’s going to look at the transgender issue and the protection of the female category,” she noted. A decision would be made “collectively” with the international federations, and Coventry assured that “that decision will be made very clear and we won’t move from that decision.”
Coventry described her election as “significant” for women and paid a heartfelt tribute to veteran American IOC member Anita DeFrantz, the first woman to run for the presidential post in a previous election. Despite being frail, DeFrantz had flown from the United States to Greece to vote for Coventry. “There have been incredible women that have come before me, one of them sitting in the room today which I might get a little emotional about,” she said. “Anita DeFrantz was a huge inspiration to me and to many women, and I was just really proud that I could make her proud.”
Reflecting on DeFrantz’s legacy, she said, “She’s been a huge mentor of mine since I came into the movement in 2013. Women like her paved the way for more women like me, and I want to pave the way for younger generations, especially because I have two young daughters.”
Coventry also emphasized that her victory would coincide with the Youth Summer Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, next year, which she believes will highlight what it means to be African. “I know it’s going to be an incredible time for the world to see who we are as Africans and what we mean and what we stand for and how we are willing to embrace everyone,” she stated.
Having won seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals, including two golds, Coventry remained unapologetic for serving in the Zimbabwean administration. “In terms of my country, I chose to want to try and create change from the inside,” she explained. “It gets criticized and that’s OK, because at the end of the day, I don’t think you can stand on the sidelines and scream and shout for change. I believe you have to be seated at the table to try and create it.”
Unlike some of her rivals, Coventry ran a low-key campaign, relying on her husband Tyrone Seward for support. “I will ring my parents first; my eldest daughter came up and said ‘you won!’ but I do not think she realizes that life is going to change,” Coventry concluded.
© 2024 AFP
