It was a crowded lobby of Al Habtoor Grand in Dubai few years back where Kirsty Coventry — a former world champion swimmer and the most decorated Olympian from Africa — was switching between two roles with equal poise.
If she was exchanging pleasantries with a top notch Emirati sports official at one moment, the owner of seven Olympic medals and her husband Tyrone Seward were also busy checking out if their six-month-old daughter was at peace with the nanny the next second.
“She didn’t have a good sleep last night,” said the swimming ace from Zimbabwe, who had then stepped into the first major administrative role as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Recreation for her country a year before. During her tenure in that role, one of her biggest achievements was to convince the International Cricket Council (ICC) to lift the ban on her country for what was deemed as ‘political interference.’
Cut to Costa Novrino in Greece two days back, Coventry – who easygoing demeaneour hides the steely resolve – shocked the global sporting fraternity when she became the first woman and African, not to speak of the youngest president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The verdict came in the first round of the elections to choose the successor of Thomas Bach, in which the 41-year-old garnered 49 of the 97 votes as Lord Sebastian Coe polled an embarrassing eight votes and Juan Antonio Samaranch 28.
How did such a coup happen? It’s a no-brainer that there is a lot of backroom drama and machinations in election of such profile posts and an educated guess is that Coventry finds herself in the hot seat thanks to the clout of outgoing supremo Bach among the IOC members.
The Zimbabwean, who gets a eight-year tenure till 2033, will have her first major event in Los Angeles 2028 and has a meeting scheduled with the US President Donald Trump soon.
I have been dealing with let’s say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old. What I have learned is that communication is the key.
Easier said than done, but one can possibly count on her for a combination of charm and diplomacy to get things moving.
Looking back, one of the major achievements on her CV was getting Zimbabwe’s cricketing ban lifted – and Coventry had opened up during an exclusive chat on that and more with this writer on the sidelines of an international sports conference.
I would like to thank the ICC chairman, Shashank Manohar, for giving me an opportunity to listen to the blueprint I have in mind. It was a very good meeting which paved the door for our re-entry..
Thankfully, Zimbabwe had continued to be a part of the cricketing fraternity since then.
Growing up in a country torn apart by bloody stories of racism, Coventry held court on some of her principles during the chat which would stand the test of time and help her in governance of the IOC as well. Asked about how she planned to cope with the ills in in their cricketing system like corruption or quota-based selection in the national teams, the former world record holder promised there will be no compromise on quality.
“I would like to see athletes being recognised as athletes. They are not black or white but athletes as we need to put up the best team for Zimbabwe. It doesn’t matter whether you come from a poor or rich community.”
In a country starved of sporting stardom, Coventry has been a cult figure of sorts ever since she won the first of her two gold medals in Athens 2004 — which had the then President Robert Mugabe addressing her as “our golden girl.”
She was a dominating force in 200 metres backstroke and individual medley for five Olympic Gomes from 2000 in Sydney to Rio 2016 — finishing with seven medals in all — two gold in the 200m backstroke in 2004 and 2008, four silver and a bronze. Coventry also has three long course world titles — 100m, 200m backstroke in 2005 and 200m breaststroke in 2009.
Surely, the journey was not easy as Zimbabwe had no sporting heroes for an young swimmer to model herself after like say US or Australia?
I was very fortunate for my parents were very supportive and kept saying you can do it — they gave me the support for being confident enough to try. My coach Kim Brackin and teammates were pillars of strength as they created the right environment for me to succeed:.
Looking at the bigger picture for the two disciplines which form the cornerstone of the Olympics movement — it certainly seems that athletics and swimming were no longer the same after the exit of iconic figures like Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps.
Asked how come such larger-than-life characters would be now rare in her sport, Coventry was in no mood to rue over the retirement of the legends. “Unlike superheroes like Usain or Michael, today’s athletes are trying only very few events. If you look at Usain, he was trying the 100, 200 or even the 400m relays, but now athletes are more specific.
“May be, you have to look at this way that sport is growing and hence possibly becoming more specialised. You are unlikely to get a swimmer like Phelps who is swimming the 100 metres, 200m, individual medley or backstroke but we will have to live with it,” she trailed off.
