VERONA, ITALY - FEBRUARY 22: Kirsty Coventry, President of the IOC, waves the Olympic flag after receiving it from Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala (L) and Cortina d'Ampezzo mayor Gianluca Lorenzi (2-L) to Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur regional president Renaud Muselier (R) and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regional president Fabrice Pannekoucke (2-R) during the flag handover ceremony to the host of the 2030 Winter Olympics, French Alps, during the Closing Ceremony on day 16 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Verona Arena on February 22, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry suggested firing her communication and PR team during a press conference.
Coventry held a press conference for the end of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Reporters asked her about FIFA President and IOC member Gianni Infantino joining the peace board of President Donald Trump, a potential for Germany to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, which would be 100 years after Nazi Germany hosted the Olympics and revelations about a Russian doping scandal from 2018.
“OK, I’m really looking at my team, and maybe someone needs to be dismissed because I’m not aware of that either,” Coventry said. “But I would be very interested to find out more about it.”
Coventry started off as an Olympic athlete herself. She won gold medals for her home country, Zimbabwe, for the 200-meter backstroke in 2004 and 2008. She also took home four silver medals and a bronze medal between the two Olympics.
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She was the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2025.
Coventry was named the President of the IOC in 2025. She replaced Thomas Bach, who stepped down to respect the precedent of the 12-year limit.
She is the first woman to serve as President of the IOC. Along with that, she’s also the first person born in Africa to be put in this role. The United States and Zimbabwe are the only non-European nations to have a President of the IOC.
The 2026 Winter Olympics were Coventry’s first Olympic Games as president. Early estimates of the games show they were largely successful. NBC has reported record viewership for weekday Olympic events. Along with that, several women athletes were able to garner interest in several sports amongst other women.
The 2030 Winter Olympics will be held from Feb. 1 to Feb. 17 in the French Alps.
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