In her first wide-ranging interview since being elected President of the International Olympic Committee in March, Kirsty Coventry disclosed that it wasn’t always easy for her as an Olympics-driven adolescent in Zimbabwe. During Coventry’s childhood, Zimbabwe possessed a single Olympic medal, and Coventry’s forthright declarations that she intended to win more were often met with derision from her peers.
“I was bullied at school,” Coventry remarked during the interview, sitting near one of her swim caps from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she won a gold and three silvers. “Part of the reason I was always bullied was because I would always talk about going to the Olympic Games and say ‘I’m going to win a gold medal’ and they would just look at me and call me names and tell me I was ridiculous,” she said. “But those same people when I won my medal and I went back to Zimbabwe were the first people that wanted a picture with me.”
Newly-elected IOC President Kirsty Coventry reacts prior to her first press conference during the … More
Today Coventry views the experience as a teachable lesson, one of several that she hopes to impress upon those watching her as the first woman to lead the IOC. “You’re always going to have people that aren’t going to believe in your dream,” Coventry said. Her advice? Be nice anyway. “I remember my mum and grandmother both saying, ‘It takes nothing to say hello. It takes nothing from you. Be the bigger person. And I think that is extremely relevant when you have people that may doubt your capabilities. You’ve just got to smile and again, show them. Make believers of them.”
The underdog comes into her own
Coventry’s style — call it confidence without arrogance — helped her win crucial support as she stepped forward as only the second ever female candidate for the IOC Presidency this spring. She brings stellar Olympic credentials — with two golds, four silvers and a bronze in swimming, she is Africa’s most successful Olympic athlete — then served on the IOC Athletes Commission and its Executive Board in addition to being Zimbabwe’s minister for Sports, Art, and Recreation.
Her personal warmth and overarching goals for the Olympic movement drew the support and friendship of outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach, a fellow Olympic gold medalist. Despite abstaining from the presidential vote, Bach was seen as a staunch supporter of Coventry’s candidacy and expressed delight when she stunned by winning the Presidency on the first ballot. She and Bach have collaborated closely during the transition period that ends Monday with Coventry’s inauguration as IOC President.
Coventry’s ascension is a significant moment for Africa as well as for women, and her platform at least for the moment seems to turn on finding ways to support athletes and help them attain the resources they need to optimize their potential. As a swimmer and later a political entity, she has often been the underdog. As a highly competitive person — “I was banned from family card games because I hated to lose,” she said — it’s a role she’s come to cherish.
“To all those people who may look at me and see one thing, it kind of excites me, because I think that they won’t see what’s coming when they realize what I do have to contribute,” she said.
“I think it just comes down to knowing your own capabilities and being inwardly proud of that and confident about those capabilities. Not in an arrogant way or in a forceful way but in a way that will just allow you to show people that you are capable and you’ve got this. And that would be my same advice to women who are wanting to step into these different leadership roles: Know that you are capable. Hold that within yourself. Be confident enough to show them.”
Kirsty Coventry earned gold in the women’s 200m backstroke at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she … More
Coventry finds herself in rooms with some very powerful people these days. The challenge before her is not small: there will be broadcast deals to negotiate, stakeholders to satisfy, a whole world of people to inspire with the power and grandeur of the Olympics, some of whom will surely be watching and waiting and ready to level criticism.
It didn’t scare her then and it doesn’t now either. “And know that sometimes people are going to pull you down, and be strong enough to get yourself out of or away from those situations,” she said. “And sometimes your friends are not going to be the cool friends, and that’s okay, because they will be cool, and you realize as you get older, well, we’re the cool ones, right?”
One way or another, she will play a big role in shaping the Olympics of the future. She’s cognizant that the spirit of the Games, not the job she has ended up with, are what shaped her. “I want people to remember me by saying, she never changed,” Coventry added. “She was always humble, she was always approachable, the position never changed her. But she changed the position.”
