New Generation Takes Over IOC
By Ed Hula
The rousing cheer was a moment unlike any other in the brief life of the ultra-modern headquarters of the IOC.
Hundreds of staff filled three levels of the rings-shaped atrium April 8, sending a wave of applause as Kirsty Coventry entered for the first time as president-elect. When she takes over June 23 she will become only the second IOC president to operate from the headquarters that opened in 2018. The atrium welcome to a new IOC president was the first for the building constructed after Thomas Bach took office in 2013.
The scene was striking for its contrasts and implications for a change in culture at the IOC. Coventry, 41, smiling, in a tailored cream pin striped ensemble. Bach, 71, was clad in the suit and tie uniform of the previous eight men to hold the IOC presidency. That a change is coming to Lausanne is obvious. Of the hundreds of IOC staff welcoming Coventry, most are closer to her age, not Bach’s. A new generation is taking over.
Coventry arrived looking no worse for wear after a 7000 km journey from her home in Zimbabwe with husband Tyrone Seward and daughters six years-old and six months-old. The family will be moving to Lausanne in the months ahead, but it probably won’t be the Lausanne Palace Hotel, habitué of the last three IOC presidents, none of whom had children to tend. The posh Palace may just not be suitable for the growing family.
Coventry says both children will hit the road with her as IOC president.
“My youngest has fit right in. She has travelled with me since she was four weeks old. Being with my husband and daughters is where I find my down time,” she says in an article by Steve Wilson on the IOC website.
Coventry is not only the first woman to head the IOC, but also the first top-tier international sports leader with youngsters at home. It’s a distinction that will likely be part of her image and subject to the curiosity of media throughout her term as chief of the IOC. Already more than 60 interview requests have been lodged with the IOC media office.
Coventry was one of just four IOC members in Lausanne for the April 9 meeting of the executive Board. The remaining 11 members connected virtually. They okayed the sports program for the 2028 Olympics and signed the host contract for winter 2030 and the French Alps. No word on any remarks that might have been made by Coventry, who sat to Bach’s right. These meetings are held in camera.
The new IOC leader will be in Lausanne until next week when she’ll head back to Zimbabwe. It’s probably not the last before she takes office June 23. In the meantime it’s a series of meetings with IOC staff, sponsors, broadcasters and beyond with Bach guiding the transfer. Bach and Coventry met virtually tnis week with the EB as well as staff in Madrid at Olympic Broadcasting Services. Bach introduced her to a meeting of European sports leaders and more such events are ahead.
Changes Coming in Lausanne
Besides finding domicile in Lausanne, Coventry also will be looking for a few good men and women to fill posts she currently holds on commissions.
A new chair for the coordination commission handling the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar will be needed. Coventry has led the panel since 2018; the position seems likely for another member from Africa. These games are also seen as an early test of Africa’s ability to host an Olympic Games, perhaps chosen during the Coventry presidency. She’ll also need to replace herself as chair of the IOC Commission for the 2032 Summer Games in Brisbane. It will be a closely watched appointment: whoever gets this nod could end up on the short list of possible Coventry successors in the next decade.
Coventry is also a member of commissions for Olympic Solidarity, Public Affairs and Corporate Communications and Finance. It will be up to her to choose replacements as well as naming the membership of all of the three dozen commissions. Together they have some 300+ members from inside and outside the IOC.
A seat on the 15-member Executive Board opens when Coventry takes office. But it’s not hers to fill. The seat will remain unfilled until the next IOC Session in February 2026 when the full IOC can vote on a replacement.
The Milan Session next year also will elect the first new IOC members of the Coventry era. The IOC president has considerable sway over who is nominated by the commission led by Princess Anne. The EB formally okays the list for what is usually a pro forma vote at the IOC Session. How many seats will be filled isn’t certain yet; about a half dozen members are leaving in 2025 due to age 70 mandatory retirement or loss of status as an international federation or national Olympic committee leader.
Coventry may be just the person to bring the IOC membership to a 50/50 gender split after decades of trying. Of the 111 current members 57% are male, 43% female. Over the next 12 years, if she wins a four year term extension, Coventry could see 70 or more new IOC members take the oath to replace those leaving.
Significant changes to the staff at the IOC are not expected when Coventry comes to power. With the next Winter Olympics coming just seven months after taking office, continuity is a plus. But as her mandate progresses, changes are inevitable, and she already has some key hires to oversee.
Top of the list would be a sports director. Kit McConnell, a 20-year IOC veteran, will return to his native Australia to be chief of sport for Brisbane 2032.
Jacqueline Barrett, who’s been at the IOC even longer, will be leaving as well. As the director of future host cities she has managed the bidding process for the Olympics since 1992. The next person to hold that job is headed to a hot seat for sure.
Every Olympics, summer and winter, has been selected or designated through 2038, except for one. The 2036 Summer Games are still open with a crowd of well-heeled contenders knocking on the door of the IOC. India is pushing for those Games with the backing of IOC member Nita Ambani, one of the world’s wealthiest women. Qatar may try again or perhaps Saudi Arabia, both with IOC members who have international heft.
Those ambitions may have to contend with the aspirations of the first IOC president from Africa. The Zimbabwean Olympian about to become the country’s best known international figure is expected to be a powerful advocate to bring the first Olympics to Africa. With Games being chosen by the IOC as long as 10 years or more ahead of time, Coventry will soon be pressed on how to help deliver an Olympics to Africa – while maintaining a fair process to choose hosts for 2036 and beyond.