Olympic House in Lausanne was eerily quiet the day after hundreds poured through the lobby for the ceremony installing Kirsty Coventry as IOC president. It’s as if the ultra modern edifice was taking a deep breath as it prepared to welcome Coventry, only the second president since it opened in 2019.
The day after her ceremony Coventry and some 60 other IOC members who traveled to Lausanne were wrapped up in a series of brainstorming meetings at the Olympic Museum, a few km east along the lake. The fourth floor office for the president that faces Lake Geneva was empty, void of decoration. Thomas Bach had gathered his mementos days before. Staff who were used to being peppered by calls throughout the day appeared wistful about the abrupt end of his telephone inquiries.
Coventry meets the press for the first time as IOC president.
But the hush is over. On day two of her mandate, Coventry was in action chairing her first meeting of the 15-member Executive Board. Nothing urgent or controversial revealed. She says reports from organizing committees and medals reallocation were among the topics. Nothing spectacular but IOC headquarters returned to its routines under a new president.
In her press conference following the EB meeting, Coventry was at ease fielding more than a dozen questions from reporters around the globe. More than 60 logged into the Zoom briefing now available online at the IOC media YouTube page.
But while the EB may have not made much news, Coventry opened up about the day and a half “Pause and Reflect” exercise held at the Olympic Museum. The closed-door brainstorm session included about 60 IOC members and zero of the IOC directors. The only staff on hand were there to help with clerical and logistical needs.
The biggest take away would be that the pause button has been pushed regarding the selection of a host for the 2036 Summer Games. As many as a dozen countries have expressed interest in 2036, the next plum the IOC has to award. After selecting Los Angeles and Brisbane some 10 years ahead, Coventry said that members want more of a say in when a decision is made and how it is made. With 11 years to go, there’s obviously no need to rush. She says lessons from the experience of Los Angeles will be considered in making a decision on what is the best time for the IOC to begin serious consideration of the 2036 host. That could be post 2028.
Coventry says the pause does not affect interested parties from contacting the IOC for questions and guidance about formulating plans.
ISU President and IOC member Jae Youl Kim with IOC President Kirsty Coventry at the ISU Extraordinary Congress (ISU)
In her first full week as IOC president Coventry made her first appearance before one of the 30+ international federations under the umbrella of the IOC, the International Skating Union. Coventry addressed the extraordinary general assembly of the ISU which was convened to adopt reforms meant to make the sport more adaptable to change. Coventry saluted the changes and promised to work with international federations in a collaborative way.
India 2036 Visits Lausanne
Despite the pause announced for the selection of a 2036 host city, a delegation from the Indian Olympic Association visited IOC headquarters last week. The visit had been scheduled well before the announcement.
Members of the delegation from India outside Olympic House.
The group numbering about a dozen and a half members was led by IOA President PT Usha, the first woman to hold the post, and Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Sports for the government of Gujarat, which is interested in hosting Games in Ahmedabad. With 8.5 million residents, it is the most populous city in the west Indian state. Already home to a new 132,000-seat stadium — the biggest in the world — the government is also developing a multi-venue Sports City there.
The visitors heard from Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi and other staff but did not meet with the IOC president; neither was IOC member in India Nita Ambani a member of the delegation. Although talked about for years, the was the first ever in Lausanne to discuss the Indian interest in hosting the Olympics.
“The discussions provided a vital platform for the Indian delegation to articulate their vision for hosting a future Olympic Games in Ahmedabad,” says a press release from the group.
“Concurrently, they gained invaluable insights from the IOC regarding the requirements for the Olympic Games and its ambitions for the future of the Olympic Movement,” the release says. It also noted the pause in the process declared last week by the new IOC leader.
Hashimoto Seiko is the new preisdent of the Japanese Olympic Committtee.
JOC Elects First Female President
Seiko Hashimoto is the new president of the Japanese Olympic Committee. The first woman to hold the post defeated two other candidates for the job that she may have been destined to fill. An Olympic medalist in speedskating and an Olympian in track cycling, Hashimoto spent decades since then as a rising parliamentarian with an interest in sport. She’s been a minister for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and became president of the organizing committee when predecessor Yoshiro Mori resigned over a scandal involving sexist comments months before the Games.
In her comments to media following her selection, Hashimoto said that one of the goals of the JOC should be seeking another winter or summer Olympic Games. While that may not be in the immediate future for Japan, Hashimoto is more likely to find herself a nominee to the IOC, perhaps as early as February 2026 when the next elections for IOC members are scheduled. At age 60, Hashimoto only has 10 years left to serve on the IOC before hitting the age 70 mark.
Luciano Buonfiglio New Leader in Italy
Luciano Buonfiglio is the new president of the Italian committee.
The long time leader of the Italian canoe and kayak federation will lead Italian national Olympic committee CONI during the next four years. Luciano Buonfiglio was elected on one ballot at the CONI annual meeting a week ago. He defeated rival Luca Pancalli, president of the national Paralympic committee, 47 to 34. Retired IOC member Franco Carraro had been nominated as a neutral candidate but he received zero votes.
“There’s nothing more beautiful than being the president of CONI. It is a great honor and it is indeed privilege to represent CONI and Italian sports in the next four years,” Buonfiglio declared after the vote. The 74-year-old said he will serve just one term. He replaces Giovanni Malago who steps down after three terms. Malago will continue to serve as chair of the organizing committee for the upcoming winter Olympics in Milan/ Cortina. Malago, 66, has four years remaining as an IOC member, which is not connected to his tenure as CONI president.
The new president of the International Olympic Committee hasn’t said much yet about what she plans to do when she takes over June 23. But the anticipation for Kirsty Coventry is high: at 42 she is the youngest IOC president in 100 years, the first African and the first woman to lead the organization.
She takes over from her mentor Thomas Bach, who leaves the IOC in good shape with no immediate crises to solve. But there are plenty of challenges and opportunities ahead that will benefit from the energy of a more youthful president and the leadership group she’s now forming.
Coventry as travelled widely since her election in March, often along with Bach, introducing the new president to organizations like the Olympic Council of Asia or the organizers of the 2032 Games in Brisbane. Last week it was Rome where Conventry and Bach met with the leaders of the Italian government ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina.
This week Coventry will hold her first formal briefing for the media, just days before the installation ceremony June 23 in Lausanne. However, the virtual event will be limited to personal questions, not on policy matters. Those questions will have to wait until she formally takes office next week when she presides over her first meeting of the Executive Board.
While we wait for her thoughts about running the IOC, here’s a list of the opportunities and challenges ahead for IOC President Coventry.
Coventry with Bach in Rome with Italian leaders.
#1 Building Unity for the IOC – Coventry’s first round election in March came by a margin of one vote over the rest of the field, 49 votes. Missing that tally could have turned the election into a new contest. Some say second-place finisher Juan Antonio Samaranch would have prevailed, although recent history suggests otherwise. The two other IOC presidents elected in the 21st Century — Bach in 2013 and predecessor Jacques Rogge in 2001, won their majorities on the second ballot after leading in the first round.
All six defeated candidates remain on the IOC for a number of years, but there’s no evidence of any bad blood or serious dissent among the ranks of the IOC. Samaranch is also a member of the executive board for another year. All of the candidates called for a more open and deliberative IOC, so it will be interesting to see whether Coventry makes any change to the rubber stamp style of oversight that the IOC now seems to follow.
#2 Shape Her Vision – In her campaign, Coventry offered no big changes in policy or practice at the IOC. She says she’s listening to her colleagues and others with an interest in the Olympics before making any pronouncements. Elected with tacit support from Bach, Coventry offers continuity of his leadership, at least at the outset of her eight-year mandate.
Still, she will soon take office and it will be time to tell the world her plans for the IOC, short and long term. The IOC Session set for February 2026 in Milan will be the first public test for her leadership style. Coventry chairs her first IOC Executive Board and holds her first briefing for the media as president at the end of the IOC meeting a couple of days after June 23 installation.
Within days of becoming president in 2013, Bach launched his Olympic Agenda 2020 reform program. The massive review of the way the Games are conducted, financed and administered served as a guidepost for Bach. No word on whether Coventry continues Olympic Agenda or devises some other way to regularly review operations of the enterprise.
#3 Getting To Know You – The first formal meeting between the new IOC president and U.S. President Donald Trump is not yet on the calendar. But the president often says he’s looking forward to Los Angeles in 2028, so a White House invite is in order before long.
It will be interesting to see the chemistry between Coventry and Trump, should the press be invited to the Oval Office. Trump loves to have sports figures revel in the gilded office. FIFA impresario Gianni Infantino has been at the White House a couple of times ahead of next year’s World Cup, with the two of them forming a sort of bromance. Infantino lives most of the time in South Florida, about 90 miles south Mar A Lago.
I’m not convinced the Coventry-Trump relationship will reach the same bonhomie. Indeed, Trump can be imperious, dismissive and condescending. But he does have dreams of basking in the glory of the spectacle in three years, so that may help moderate his cantankerous side. After all, why make trouble with your seatmate for the opening ceremony?
Among the issues Coventry and Trump might discuss are the visa bans or restrictions on 19 nations. Even though the U.S. says the ban on travel won’t apply to Olympians, there’s always some complication.
Coventry can turn to Bach for advice on meeting Trump. In June 2017, Bach – along with a U.S. delegation that included IOC members Larry Probst and Anita DeFrantz – met with Trump in the Oval Office. Trump by all accounts was distracted and uninformed, asking at one point “which one of you is an IOC member?”
The meeting lasted but 10 minutes but for Bach was apparently an unsettling encounter. He was reportedly heard on a phone call following the meeting saying something like “God help us”. No press was present for the meeting and the White House media office never prepared a readout. IOC spokesman Mark Adams was less than fulsome with his assessment of how things went down.
“President Trump confirmed his support for the L.A. candidature,” he said at the time.
Coventry will have to pay attention to relations with the U.S. well past Los Angeles as Salt Lake City will reprise hosting the winter Olympics in 2034. While there is not any doubt about the Utah capital being ready, the award of the Games came on the condition that officials in Utah would help overturn the federal law that allows for investigators to question and detain international sports officials and athletes over suspicions of doping or other corruption. The codicil to the Salt Lake City agreement gives the IOC escape clause should problems arise.
Thomas Bach steps down June 23, Kirsty Coventry will take over.
#4 A Russian Return – It is hard to imagine Russia’s war against Ukraine lasting beyond the next 12 years of a Coventry presidency. Taking an optimistic view that it be over, sooner or later, the IOC will need to decide the terms of the return of the Russian Olympic Committee. It has been suspended since 2018 and its athletes have missed the Olympics since 2016. The Russian flag is failed to fly at the games in Rio, Tokyo, Paris and possibly Los Angeles in 2028. A Russian hockey team as yet to compete at the Winter Games since Sochi in 2014 . It’s been blocked again for Milan 2026 .
That amounts to at least one generation of athletes largely left on the sidelines of the Olympics. It also means new leaders for Russian sport who may not be well-acquainted with the new, Gen Z style IOC. Milan/Cortina seems unlikely to bring Russia back, but LA 28 may be possible. Brisbane 2032 could be the Games for the Russian comeback, which would give Coventry and crew plenty of time to plan on how it will happen.
#5 2036 and 2040 Olympics – Among the most intriguing decisions coming for the IOC in the Kirsty Coventry era will be where to bring the summer Games in 2036 and 2040.
The list of interested countries already includes Spain, Germany, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and South Africa.
Coventry, who hails from Zimbabwe, could face great pressures to accomplish what’s been talked about for generations now: an Olympics in Africa. Never before has the time been so ripe for a bid from the continent. A successful Youth Olympic Games next year in Dakar will be seen as a prelude. Until her election in March, Coventry chaired the IOC coordination commission for Dakar, so she has good reason to pay close attention to success in 2026.
The destiny of an African Olympic bid, however, collides with the ambitions of India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Not just on a global stage, but also within the IOC. One of world’s wealthiest women, Nita Ambani, has ten years left on her term as an IOC member in India. She is a fierce supporter of India’s Olympic aspirations, which now depend on realistic plans for an Indian Games and an absence of armed conflict with Pakistan. If 2036 is too early for India, then 2040 might be an option. It is possible we could see a twin awarding, Africa for 2036 and India or Qatar for 2040, as happened with Paris and Los Angeles.
The Saudi bid may be an outlier. The kingdom has not held the same scale and frequency of international sports events as have Qatar. There is little doubt that Saudi Arabia could finance an Olympics but whether it happens later than sooner might be more likely. Princess Reema bint Banda al Saud is one of the advocates for her country hosting international sporting events. She is an IOC member as well as the ambassador of the kingdom to the United States.
Qatar’s international might could play a hand in the chances of Doha for one of the two open Games.IOC member Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is also the head of state. Tamim is an inobtrusive member who has spoken little at the IOC Sessions he has attended for 25 years. But as the sovereign of a wealthy nation that has outsized influence on the world stage, his presence is felt behind the scenes. A perennial bidder for the Games 20 years ago, Qatar’s sports resume has expanded over the decades. Coventry and Emir Tamim have another 20+ years to go as fellow IOC members, so maybe they will work out a way to bring Olympics to the Middle East — just not for 2036. Coventry could make sure Africa goes first.
#6 The IOC President Is a Mother – Not only is Coventry the first woman to lead an international sports organization at the level of the IOC, she brings a parent’s perspective as the mother of two young girls, an infant and a seven-year-old.
While people around the globe groan about how the Olympics need to cultivate new generations of sports fans and competitors, the household of the IOC president should give her a perspective on how best to do that. Expect her story to be the focus of interest from the world. She is the too-rare Olympic champion from Africa who also happens to break the IOC glass ceiling while caring for a pair of young daughters. The older one will be a teenager during the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Coventry was welcomed by the IOC staff just days after her victory March 20.
#7 Gender Identity in Sport – The controversy over Tunisian boxer Imane is just one question of many to come regarding who is a male and who is a female.
Coventry’s fresh perspective as a woman and as an athlete will be crucial. With LA 28 on the horizon, the integrity of women’s sport is a volatile issue. How the IOC under Coventry deals with the politics and science of gender standards will get much scrutiny in the U.S., especially as Los Angeles approaches. Despite only a small number of clashes over gender in sport, members of the U.S. Congress are demanding answers on what is a hot button issue for many constituents.
The uproar over Khelif in Paris came under the watch of an IOC task force formed when the International Boxing Association was suspended for a range of issues involving governance, finance and ethics. Nonetheless the IBA says it standards would have prevented Khelif from competing in Paris, contending the IOC brought the controversy by overlooking IBA’s protocol.
In the year since Paris, a new federation has been recognized that meets with IOC approval, World Boxing. The newly recognized Federation will take charge now of the competition in Los Angeles. In just in the past month Federation announced its policy for gender testing that mirrors that of the rival IBA.
#8 New Sponsors – The IOC depends on the help of worldwide sponsors to help pay for the Olympics, some $3 billion every four years. Coventry now joins the team selling the Olympic rings to some of the world’s leading firms. There’s been talk that the long-running TOP sponsorship operation should be replaced with another format. Coventry, as is customary with new IOC presidents, is expected to meet with leaders of the major sponsors such as Coca-Cola to hear what they say. Coke, the longest sponsor of the Olympic has a deal with the IOC until 2036.
#9 Act Against Corruption – Maintaining the integrity of an international sports movement that includes not just the IOC but also dozens of international federations and two hundred national Olympic committees is an ongoing issue. Divisive recent controversies involving the leadership of the modern pentathlon and table tennis federations, for example, do little to inspire trust in the way sport is administered. The IOC is continually dealing with contested NOC voting. The IOC Ethics Commission is seldom heard from, which could be a good thing. But as it’s been said, still waters run deep and there is likely a lot of activity we don’t hear about.
#10 Athlete Compensation, Anti Doping and WOA – As a one-time elite athlete, Kirsty Coventry knows the difficulty Olympians face in their quest for gold. Few of the 10,500 competitors at the Games have sponsors or other significant sources of income that allows them to train properly. It’s a seeming injustice given the relative wealth of those athletes who benefit from sponsors versus those who do not.
As an IOC president who not long ago experienced the toil and often slim rewards for elite athletes, Coventry could be a leading voice to bring athletes the support they need. This might even include cash prizes, a move supported by World Athletics president Seb Coe, one of her challengers for the presidency. For the first time, World Athletics awarded medal winners in Paris with cash prizes, a move not welcome by the IOC president Bach.
Doping issues remain a constant worry for athletes. The case of the Chinese swimmers who were absolved of taking a performance-enhancing drug for the heart may be over but the suspicions remain deep over the power of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The United States Anti-Doping Agency is a fierce critic of WADA, which receives about half of its funding from the IOC. The perspective that Coventry brings to the table will be crucial to moving forward with a fight against doping in sport that athletes deem credible.
One less obvious task that should be tackled early would be to resolve the question of “who’s boss?” at the World Olympians Association. The 40-year-old association is mired in a dispute with the IOC over the role of the WOA which purports to represent all Olympic athletes. The IOC has funded the organization since its inception but is said to ready to jettison the WOA, to which it contributed about $600,000 per year. Payments are believed to have been halted.
The IOC under Thomas Bach is said to be unhappy with the independent direction of the WOA. It’s now up to Coventry to decide on the next move.
Incoming IOC president Kirsty Coventry is a woman in motion as she travels the globe before taking office in June.
Brisbane is the port of call this week. She will hand the torch, so to speak, to Philippines IOC member Mikaela Jaworski, the new chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2032 Olympics. Coventry chaired the group until her election as IOC president in March, leading her to request current IOC president Thomas Bach to name a new chair ahead of the meeting this week.
Mikaelea Jaworsky is the new chair of the IOC commission for Brisbane 2032. Photo by Greg Olsen, IOC
Jaworski, 51, has been an IOC member since 2013, the same class as Coventry. A TV presenter, she is involved with educational media projects in the Philippines. She has served on past coordination commissions and is one of 15 members on the EB. In her days of competitive sport, Jaworski represented the Philippines as an equestrian. She trained in Queensland so well knows Brisbane already.
The meeting in Brisbane will include current IOC president Thomas Bach, obviously making his final trip to Oz in that title. He last visited in 2022, the year the Queensland capital was awarded the Games.
Bach has been at Coventry’s side in the past month as she transitions into the IOC leadership. In Kuwait earlier this month she made her first speech as IOC president-elect to the genera; assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia.
“As I begin my journey as IOC President, my first priority is to listen. I want to hear from you – from your NOCs, from your athletes – about what you need, what you expect, and how you see your role in shaping the future of our Olympic Movement,” Coventry told the 45-member OCA.
Notable from the Kuwait event was a sidelines meeting with the IOC leaders and Dr. Wali Rahimi, president of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee. Also there was Samira Asghari, IOC member in Afghanistan. While a symbolic team of six athletes from the nation were accredited to Paris 2024, three men, three women. The three women were selected by the IOC and none of them lived in Afghanistan as the Taliban rulers refuse to allow women in sport. No government officials were permiited to attend Paris by IOC order.
Coventry greets the Afghan NOC president along with IOC president Bach. (OCA)
Rahimi admitted that “major challenges” face sport in Afghanistan. Coventry will be on the front lines of meeting that challenge with the LA28 Games approaching. Also looming early in her mandate will be the difficult situation of Russia and the IOC. With its national Olympic committee suspended over the Ukraine war, Russia’s athletes are soon to be caught in the tangle of rules regarding whether they can qualify for the Milan/Cortina games next February or Los Angeles in 2028.
Senegal Stop for Coventry
Closer to her home in Zimbabwe, Coventry made it to Dakar this month to hand off her post chairing the coordination commission for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The job now falls to Kenya rugby sevens star Humphrey Kayange, named by the IOC president this month. A member of the IOC athletes commission, he competed at the 2016 Games. The 42-year-old is a chemist by education and works in the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
Both Kayange and Jaworski are among the fresh voices and personalities expected to bloom on the IOC in the years ahead. Dozens of members who now have served under four IOC presidents dating back to the 1980s, will be leaving the IOC through retirement in the next decade. Coventry will have the say-so on who joins this new wave of influence at the IOC. Her successor may be one of them.
Bach Farewelled in Guam
Thr IOC president stopped in Guam on the way to Brisbane for good byes from members of the Oceania National Olympic Committees assembly in Apia. Bach told delegates from the 17 nations in the region that ” “Every visit to Oceania is a personal highlight for me. I am really privileged that I have been welcomed by you so many times. I enjoyed every minute of it,” he said. Perhaps it is the absence of suits and ties in the tropics that appeals.
The IOC president with new ONOC leader Baklai Temengil from Palau. (IOC Greg Olsen)
Coventry did not make the trek to Guam, with Bach urging the NOC leaders to extend their support to the new IOC president.
“Throughout all these years, I have been fortunate to experience your unity, your community spirit, your solidarity and your friendship first hand. We all share our commitment and passion for our beloved Olympic Movement. We all want to see it shining even brighter in the future. This is why today I ask you to extend this same spirit and support to my successor, the IOC President-elect, Mrs Kirsty Coventry,” he said in remarks to the assembly.
Outgoing ONOC president Robin Mitchell was honored for his long service to the region and as an IOC member. Bach presented him with the IOC President’s trophy. Mitchell’s successor as ONOC president will be IOC Member Baklai Temengil. She is secretary general of the Palau NOC. Temengil becomes the first woman to lead one of the five continental associations representing the 206 NOCs.
Bach, CoatesHonored in Japan
IOC President Thomas Bach and retired IOC member John Coates were awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in a ceremony this month in Japan. The honors were in recognition of the work of the two men om the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, postponed by one year due to the Covid pandemic.
Coates, who led the IOC commission for Tokyo, retired from the IOC in 2024. He made countless trips between Sydney and Tokyo in the seven years of prep for the Games. Coates reports he’s well and will be in Brisbane this week and then on to Lausanne for his role as president of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
As the 30th anniversary of the Centennial Olympic Games approaches, a new documentary portrays Atlanta as a city that seized the opportunity to make the Olympics count for decades to come.
The Games in Black-and-White is a retelling of the seemingly improbable quest from Atlanta to win the ‘96 Olympics and the remarkable impact they had on the city.
The documentary world premier was April 26, the first film in the 49th Atlanta Film Festival, . The screening was held at the Rialto Theater, a restored movie house with an art deco facade just blocks from Centennial Olympic Park, the crown jewel left from the Olympics.
The film is the culmination of five years of work by producer George Hirthler, known for writing the text for Atlanta’s winning bid for the ‘96 Games some three decades ago. Since then he’s helped a number of cities around the globe hoping to win the Olympics as well. Along the way, Hirthler began a long communion with the history and philosophy of the founder of the modern Olympics Pierre de Coubertin. Hirthler says de Coubertin’s writings inspired both the Atlanta bid book as well as those for subsequent bids from other cities. He’s also written The Idealist, a historical novel based on the life of the French Baron. Seasoned film maker Bob Judson is co-producer.
Billy Payne and Andrew Young at the world premier. Photo by Sheila S. Hula
The Games in Black and White is built upon the relationship that developed between Billy Payne, the Atlanta real estate lawyer who came up with the dream of the Olympics in the Deep South, and Andrew Young, then mayor of Atlanta. Young took a meeting with Payne, who turned the skeptical mayor into enthusiastic booster.
Hirthler says he wanted to portray the alliance between Payne and Young “as the most successful Black and White partnership in the American South in the civil rights era”. Both men attended the premier and spoke at the event, which was one of the few times they’ve been seen together in public in recent years. Young is 93; Payne is 77.
The first third of the 100-minute documentary covers the final year of Atlanta’s campaigning from 1989 to 1990. It offers a level of detail that shows how complex Olympic bidding had become with key leaders of the bid crisscrossing the globe to meet with IOC members.
Hirthler chats with Payne and Young following the screening. Photo by Sheila S. Hula
The film progresses to the next stage for Atlanta: implementing the plans promised the IOC. Among them an Olympic stadium challenged by neighborhood opposition. Former Fulton County Commissioner Martin Luther King III discusses his role casting the deciding vote to approve construction of the $240 million project.
Billy Payne’s vision to create Centennial Olympic Park is recounted as the first major inner-city park built in the United States for generations. Included is the tragedy of the bombing midway through the Olympics that killed one woman and injured more than 100 spectators. Two days later the park would reopen with Payne noting in the film that some “preaching” would be needed for the brief ceremony. The Reverend Andrew Young was the only possible choice, said Payne, who served as CEO the entirety of the Atlanta Olympics journey.
The cast of personalities included in the documentary number into the dozens. Among those speaking are people who managed to use the Olympics as an opportunity to build businesses in Atlanta that thrive today. Almost one-third of the 40+ interviews are with former staff of Atlanta ‘96. Nearly all experienced the Games firsthand. Some are still in the game.
Atlanta Story Partners George Hirthler & Bob Judson in Centennial Olympic Park Sept 26, 2023.
Terrence Burns who was the manager of Delta Airlines Olympic sponsorship, now consults with clients around the globe on Olympics related issues. Doug Arnot, now the venue chief for LA28, began his Olympic journey in Atlanta as the head og the ticketing program. Since then has been involved with several organizing committees. Also with a prominent place in the film is Janet Evans, the four-time gold medalist who retired after the Atlanta Olympics. She is now chief of athletes for LA 28. Evans will be remembered as the next-to-last runner in the 1996 Olympic torch relay. She lit the final torch held by Mohammed Ali; it is a scene that will live forever in Olympic lore.
Curiously, two important figures in the Olympic world are outliers of sorts among the cast in the film. Unlike the other personages appearing in the production, neither current U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland or Casey Wasserman, LA28 chairman, experienced the Atlanta Olympics firsthand. Both were university students at the time – Hirshland in North Carolina, Wasserman in California. They were just teenagers when Atlanta won the bid in 1990. Talk about a generation gap!
No voice is heard from the IOC, which had some lingering sour opinions about Atlanta, such as the bombing, transport issues and over-commercialization. Hirthler says the digs have been heard before. He says he wanted to focus on the long-lasting effects the Olympics had on Atlanta – and that no other city has done better.
While it brings together a large corps of people telling the story of how it happened, the narrative of the relationship between Payne and Young seems less important as the timeline of the documentary advances. How did they collaborate to solve controversies (and there were a few) leading up to the Games? The hierarchy of Atlanta 96 placed Young as co chair of the Atlanta Olympics Board of Directors supervising the work of Payne and colleagues. Was there ever any tension? Questions perhaps for the next Hirthler film to answer, which he says in the works.
The Games in Black and White is a one-of-a-kind amongst Olympic documentaries, which tend to focus on the field of play and accomplishments of the athletes. Unfortunately there seem to be fewer films of any sort relating to the Olympics outside the productions of Olympic Broadcasting Services, the IOC-owned company responsible for the raw video from the Games. For independent producers the cost of using video from the IOC archives can be prohibitive. Hirthler says he spent the past year obtaining all the agreements needed for video and photography used in the film.
Moving the film into wider distribution is the next step. A screening is being planned for Savannah which hosted the sailing events in 1996, The film will air on Georgia Public Broadcasting in July. Delta Airlines is slated to include the production in its in-flight entertainment offerings from September to the end of the year. About 1,000 cinema buffs helped fill the Atlanta audience at the landmark downtown theater. Sadly, it is the film’s only big screen appearance for now.
Whether big screen or smart phone, The Games in Black and White should be on the playlist of anyone courting Olympic dreams. Hirthler shows how Atlanta got the job done from start to finish.
Ed Hula covered the Atlanta Olympics from the bid to their conclusion and beyond.
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.
A contributor to U.S. cable channel Fox News with zero experience in the field of sport doping is nominated to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The ONDCP was created in 1989 to tackle drug addiction and abuse. The portfolio has since expanded to include U.S. representation at the World Anti-Doping Agency, the international body managing the fight against performance enhancing drugs.
Sara Carter, an investigative journalist who has reported for Fox News, was nominated March 28 to the post by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“From Afghanistan to our Border, Sarah’s relentless pursuit of Justice, especially in tackling the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis, has exposed terrorists, drug lords, and sex traffickers. As our next Drug Czar, Sara will lead the charge to protect our Nation, and save our children from the scourge of drugs,” said Trump in a posting on his Truth Social website that announced the appointment. The appellation of “Drug Czar” hales to the first ONDCP director, William Bennett, who served under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1991. Since then the nickname has stuck to the dozen or so successors.
Carter’s professional career as described on her website saracarter.com includes no experience in sports doping, government or administration of large organizations.
The ONDSP oversees a $43 billion budget and coordinates the work of 19 other federal agencies “addressing addiction and the overdose epidemic” says a release from the administration of Joseph Biden.
Dr. Rahul Gupta served as the previous ONDCP director. A physician, he was state health chief for West Virginia prior to heading to Washington. Others to hold the post have included public health experts, former cabinet members, a retired U.S. Army General, ex-big city mayors and a former governor of Florida.
Under the first Trump administration the ONDCP directorship was a revolving door. There were three interim directors, including a 24-year-old Trump campaign worker, until a permanent director was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the final months of the Trump presidency. Carter will also need to be confirmed to take charge of the office. There is no schedule set yet for Carter’s Senate review.
“It is truly an honor to serve President Donald J. Trump and be part of an administration committed to putting America first,” says Carter in a post on X.
“I pledge to work tirelessly every day to identify the challenges we face and find the solutions that will Make America Safe Again, freeing us from the grip of deadly substances like fentanyl, heroin, opioids, and other dangerous drugs. I am ready to serve at the pleasure of the President, bringing with me years of experience in investigating cartels, terrorists, human and drug traffickers,” Carter says, not mentioning any sport doping angle to the job.
Also waiting Senate confirmation is the nomination of Monica Crowley as under Secretary of State responsible for protocol. That job entails working with organizers of the 2026 World Cup to be held in the U.S. , Mexico and Canada and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Like Carter, Crowley’s background includes reporting and anchoring for Fox News.
Attempts to reach Carter this week for comment were not successful.
The task ahead for the next ONDCP director includes healing the strained relationship between the U.S. and WADA. Ever since Russia was caught in a massive doping scheme after the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, critics of the agency have bloomed. New strains have emerged over the last year with revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers with adverse findings of doping were cleared to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Outraged members of the U.S. Senate authorized Gupta to withhold payment of dues to WADA, $3.5 million annually, until the findings were reversed. That hasn’t happened. Nonetheless, Gupta eventually okayed payment before leaving office in December. Current dues are required for a country to hold seats in the WADA leadership; the U.S. has customarily been one of the 32 members of the WADA foundation board.
Gupta maintained that the U.S. was seeking assurance its contribution, the biggest among the 200+ nations covered by WADA, delivered results.
“WADA must take concrete actions to restore trust in the world anti-doping system and provide athletes the full confidence they deserve. When U.S. taxpayer dollars are allocated, we must ensure full accountability and it is our responsibility to ensure those funds are used appropriately,” Gupta was quoted by the Associated Press in 2024.
On the flip side, WADA, as well as some international sport leaders, remain unhappy with the so-called Rodchenkov Act. That law enacted during the first Trump administration, gives U.S. law enforcement the power to prosecute individuals around the world involved with doping conspiracy. Sport leaders concerned about the law worry about the long reach of its provisions, saying it could unfairly target officials or athletes at the upcoming 2028 Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City . The name came from the Russian chemist who masterminded the Russian scheme and then fled to the U.S. to expose the state run doping charade.
Travis Tygart, the outspoken head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, has been a critic of WADA through the years. He says with two Olympics on the horizon for the U.S. setting the stage is vital for the athletes.
“Now is the time to get WADA right to ensure these competitions on U.S. soil are clean, safe, and a pageantry of fair competition in which we can all have faith and confidence,” says Tygart.
Despite the difficulties between the U.S. and WADA, controversies are not expected to affect the participation of U.S. athletes at the World Cup or Olympics.
The upcoming confirmation hearing for Carter, still to be scheduled, is likely to focus on the drug addiction aspects of the ONDCP, the battle against fentanyl. Sports doping did not come up in the pro forma hearing for Gupta in 2021. This time, however, in a moment when alliances and norms are being uprooted by a new administration, perhaps Carter might be quizzed about the doping issues under her remit. Her answers may tell whether the U.S. plans continue the sizeable roll it has played in the worldwide fight against doping in sport.
The International Olympic Committee has its first female president since its founding in 1894. Zimbabwe Olympic gold medalist Kirsty Coventry triumphed over a field of six other candidates, all men, in the first round of voting at the IOC’s session in Greece. While she was a favorite at least two or three rounds of voting were expected for one candidate to win a majority of the votes, 48 in this case.
Coventry is the first IOC president from Africa and the youngest in the post in the 130 years of IOC history. She will be the 10th IOC president, succeeding Thomas Bach who steps down in June after 12 years in office.
In her campaign message to IOC members Coventry pledged to bring her background as a recent Olympian to focus on the needs of athletes who make up the heart of the Olympic Games.
Pressed by reporters after the vote as to her immediate plans Coventry says she wants to bring together the other candidates to solicit their ideas and those of other IOC members before charting a course of action.
Her first round victory was decisive. Winning 49 votes to 28 for her nearest rival, Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, son of the IOC president who served from 1980 to 2001. Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, garnered just eight votes. Cycling Federation president David Lappartient and gymnastics Federation president Morinari Watanabe both took four votes each. Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Sweden’s Johan Eliasch received two votes.
Coventry was seen as a protégé of Bach who came to office the same year Coventry took a seat as an IOC member in 2013.
Kirsty Coventry is applauded by outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach.
Coventry now begins a three month transition working alongside Bach. Changes will likely come for some staff at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne as Coventry prepares for the next eight years of her term.
She also will be making adjustments to her life. . She says she will be moving to Lausanne from her home in Zimbabwe. But she did not indicate whether she would live in the apartment on the top floor of the Lausanne Palace Hotel which has been the home for the past three IOC presidents. For the first time this IOC president comes to office with a young family that includes a five-month-old daughter and another seven years old. Coventry says she has strong support from family members that will enable her to spend the time needed as IOC president.
Despite the remote location of the IOC Session in southwestern Greece, 300km from Athens, about 100 media from around the globe made the trek. Available for public consumption on YouTube, more than 3,000 devices were on line for the announcement according to the streaming service.
Asked about how she would deal with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on issues that might arise, Coventry replied that Trump “it is a huge fan of sport “and she’s confident he will make sure LA 28 has what it needs. She also noted that “I have been dealing with difficult men in high positions since I was 20”.
Written by Ed Hula
Contributions from Mara Xenou and Brian Pinelli in Costa Navarino, Greece
On the eve of the vote to pick his successor, IOC President Thomas Bach was hailed by colleagues for 12 years of service that they say changed the Olympic Movement.
The hour-long genuflection came after a succession of reports on IOC matters like finance, the Paris Olympics and Bach’s signature Olympic Agenda reform package. There were no surprises, no untoward business, no waves to wobble the boat on a day meant to laud Bach.
The IOC Session in Pyros, Greece on Wednesday.
The tribute began with a nearly 30-minute video produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services covering Bach’s presidential tenure. It was chock full of plaudits from athletes, Nobel laureates, the chair of U.S. rightsholder Comcast Brian Thompson, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, French President Emmanuel Macron and Pierre de Coubertin biographer George Hirthler .
When the lights came back on, IOC members launched into a long string of bon mots, but not before they confirmed Bach as honorary president for life. Bach, 73, can serve until age 80 as an IOC member, but plans to resign from that seat when he steps down as president on June 23. He will be the only living ex-president of the IOC. His predecessor, Jacques Rogge, died in 2020.
Bach in 2014 with his predecesor Jacques Rogge. (Brian Pinelli)
Bach was visibly emotional from the outpouring of affection, fighting back tears, his voice quivering as he declared that his success “is not the work of one man. We should never forget that this Olympic movement is bigger than ourselves.”
“You see a happy man. I have given what I could give,” he told the session,
The timing of the farewell for Bach on this opening day clears the deck for the attention coming Thursday for the election of his successor. IOC members are keeping their preferences private, resulting in wild speculation. Predictions that Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe will win on the first ballot are matched by guesses that it is Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch who wins outright. Sebastian Coe, despite his Olympic pedigree, won’t win say some handicappers.
Other candidates aren’t given much of a chance. Jordanian Prince Feisal Al Hussein, cycling federation chief David Lappartient, ski federation president Johan Eliasch and Morinari Watanabe, the president of the gymnastics federation round out the field. It’s the biggest group of candidates ever for the IOC presidency. The secret ballot is Thursday afternoon and will follow the election for three open seats on the Executive Board.
Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant of Belgium is the only candidate for the vice president seat held by Nichole Hoevertsz from Aruba.
There are two regular seats open on the board. Norwegian Kristin Kloster and Emma Terho from Finland each hold a seat with hopes of reelection. Challengers are Spyros Caparalos from Greece, Chilean Nevin Ilic and Romanian Octavian Morariu.
Written by Ed Hula
With contributions from Coasta Navarino by Mara Xenou and Brian Pinelli
Invoking the gods of ancient Greece and the spirit of Pierre de Coubertin, IOC President Thomas Bach opened an IOC Session that will set the course of the Olympics for years to come.
“Pierre de Coubertin once said: “The Olympic Games are a pilgrimage to the past and an act of faith in the future.”
“This is exactly what this IOC Session is about. A sacred pilgrimage to our ancient past. An homage to our modern origins and to our founder. And a manifestation of our faith in the future, when we will elect a new President.
“I am sure that – from their Olympic heights – the ancient Greek gods and Pierre de Coubertin are following us very closely. They will be pleased to see that we have returned to our Greek roots at this important point in our history. Here – even if for only a fleeting moment – our past, our present and our future are aligning like stars in a constellation,” said Bach to the nearly 100 fellow IOC members in Ancient Olympia to mark the open of the 144th IOC Session. On Thursday the members will elect a new president from a group of seven candidates.
The gathering in Olympia Tuesday was symbolic. While an exact figure is not available yet, the number of IOC members in Olympia is believed to be the largest ever for a single event. The rest of the IOC session takes place 90km south along the Ionian seacoast at the Romanos Resort. It’s the closest property to Olympia with sufficient room and meeting space to hold a 21st century session drawing 500+ persons.
Plans for an IOC session in Greece have been underway for some time. First set for 2001, the covid pandemic forced the IOC to meet virtually instead, shifting the Greece session to 2025.
The simple ceremony under a marquee overlooking the first Olympic stadium featured traditional and modern dance performances, capped with the now classic Zorba the Greek music.
Ignoring the unwelcoming windy and rainy weather, Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas welcomed the IOC to come back to Greece on a regular basis. In his speech at the ceremony Tasoulas called for the IOC to always hold its presidential election in Olympia. While the sentiment may be appealing, the infrastructure of Olympia cannot handle the crush of an IOC meeting. Even the resort where this week’s session will be held has limitations. No comment yet from IOC meeting planners.
The IOC Session continues Wednesday at 0900 EET.
Written by Ed Hula
With contributions from Coasta Navarino by Mara Xenou and Brian Pinelli