IOC President Kirsty Coventry is clear that she fully understands the responsibility she holds as a role model, whether as a former athlete or in her role at the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Speaking on the IMD’s Leaders Unplugged podcast, two-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Coventry reflected on her position as the IOC’s first female president, and first to come from Africa.
“I am conscious,” she said, about the awareness of being a role model in sport and beyond. “We were at a forum a long time ago, and an NBA player stood up to give a keynote [speech], and he was talking about being role models.
“He was like, ‘What most athletes don’t recognise is that when they become an athlete, especially at a high-level elite platform, you no longer choose whether or not you’re a role model. Your choice is whether you’re going to be good or not so good.'”
The 10th IOC President continued, “You’re going to make choices to be a positive role model, or you’re going to make bad life choices that are going to put you in the bucket of, ‘I don’t want my kid growing up like that’.
“Your choice has been made for you already because of your success, so your daily choice now is trying to make good decisions so that people see you as a positive role model, and not a negative role model.”
IOC President Coventry looking ahead to the future and Dakar 2026
Following the start of her presidency in June 2025, President Coventry launched ‘Fit for the Future’, a consultation for stakeholders, active athletes, and retired Olympians, to shape the future of the Olympic Games.
It aims to evaluate the current state of the Olympic Movement and improve for what is to come, creating the best possible space for future Games editions.
Zimbabwean Coventry said, “It’s just having really open and honest conversations, which we’ve started to really look at ourselves and say what is right collectively that we believe is our core, and where that focus should be.”
Among the four new working groups is the YOG Working Group, focused on the Youth Olympic Games ahead of the next edition this October. The Summer Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 will be the first Olympic event to be held in Africa, from 31 October to 13 November.
“I think a number of stakeholders are going to be pleasantly surprised, because I think, as Africa, we get overlooked a number of times,” said President Coventry.
“I really think that there are going to be a number of stereotypes that are going to be broken, and a number of expectations that are not going to be just met, but really exceeded. And so I’m very excited about the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.”
READ MORE: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/ioc-president-kirsty-coventry-imd-podcast-positive-role-model
