Kirsty Coventry shares her vision for athlete representation at the International Athletes’ Forum

12 Jun 2025 – IOC President-elect Kirsty Coventry joined IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC) Chair Emma Terho for a fireside chat on day two of the 12th International Athletes’ Forum (IAF), discussing her journey, the Olympic memories that inspired her, and her vision for athlete representation.

Following the Q&A session with President Thomas Bach on day two of the IAF 2025, attention turned to the President-elect, as Kirsty Coventry took to the stage in Lausanne.

We all play such an important role

With athlete representation always evolving, the President-elect shared the ways in which she sees the global athlete network strengthening in the years to come.

“I hope athlete representation just continues to get stronger and stronger. We all play such an important role, whether it’s here, on the global stage or at home in our communities – we are ambassadors.

“We need to ensure that we continue to make good decisions for our athletes, that we create an incredible platform, which is the Olympic Games, for all of our athletes to succeed, and to leverage those Games for themselves, in their communities and in their sports.

“At the end of the day, that’s our job.”

A special Olympic journey

The President-elect also looked back on her extraordinary journey, from a young girl inspired by the Olympic Games to Olympic champion, IOC AC Chair and now President-elect.

“My first memory that I have of the Olympic Games was Barcelona 1992, when I was nine years old,” she recounted. “I remember watching the athletes being given their medals, and they were hugging, crying and smiling, and I said to my parents, ‘I’m going to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal for Zimbabwe.’

“I just did anything and everything I could to ensure that I got to my first Olympic Games, and then to win an Olympic medal for the first time.

“Eventually, I had the tough conversation that we all have with ourselves: when is the right time to step away? That was when I first came into contact with the IOC Athletes’ Commission. I went to my first IAF and found this engaging community that was speaking for us and had a seat at the table.

“Through all of the roles I’ve had and the journey that was taken, there were different lessons learned and different opportunities presented, but I always came back to the athlete mentality.”

Athletes and leaders

As a trailblazer for women and African athletes in leadership positions, the President-elect was asked for her advice to those wishing to make a similar impact as athlete leaders.

“Always be willing to listen to those that have come before you,” she said. “There’s so much history in our movement, and there’s so much background information, and it’s good to understand that it doesn’t need to change your view.”

The session finished with some quick-fire questions that you also won’t want to miss.

Watch the full session below.

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