Kirsty Coventry on being the first African and first woman to lead the International Olympic Committee - 'Equally cool'

Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry opens up to TNT Sports about her historic rise to IOC president - and why both her gender and her roots make the milestone equally meaningful. The Olympic icon shares memories of Athens glory, childhood dreams, and an unforgettable airport welcome, while reflecting on what Eric “the Eel” Moussambani taught the world about courage.

Kirsty Coventry says being both the first African and first woman to become International Olympic Committee (IOC) president are "equally cool" milestones.

In an exclusive interview, airing at 21:30 BST on Saturday on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+, Coventry reflected on her journey from wide-eyed Olympic dreamer to one of the most powerful figures in global sport.

Last month, the 41-year-old replaced Thomas Bach to become the youngest IOC president in more than a century. Her appointment followed a career that saw her dominate the pool for Zimbabwe and transition into high-level sport administration and politics.

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Coventry shot to global prominence at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she won gold in the 200m backstroke, one of three medals she claimed at those Games. She successfully defended her title in Beijing four years later. Of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals, seven belong to her.

After retiring, she moved into governance, starting with the IOC Athletes’ Commission before serving as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation. In March, she beat a strong field – including Sebastian Coe – to land the IOC presidency, four years after being voted in as an individual IOC member. She is also a mother of two daughters.

Asked by TNT Sports presenter Radzi Chinyanganya whether being the first African or first woman IOC president was "the coolest", she said: "They are both equally cool and I take huge pride in both of them.

• Why new IOC chief Coventry eschews 'most powerful person in sport' tag

'Like a deer in headlights' - New IOC president Coventry recalls first Olympics experience aged 17

Video credit: TNT Sports

"The Olympics has always been a huge part of my life, from being a nine-year-old girl watching the Barcelona '92 Games on TV and telling my parents, ‘I wanna go and I wanna win a medal for Zimbabwe.’ And them thinking at the time that I was partly crazy!

"But being so driven, wanting to do that and then finding myself as an athlete. Then retiring and taking that time to find a new space. That's where I got into the athlete advocacy…

"Sport is so much more than just a passion and something that we love. Yes, my world has changed – and not just mine, but my husband and my family. But it's changed in the best way because now I get to serve a movement and give back to a movement that has changed my life."

Chinyanganya, whose father is from Zimbabwe, told Coventry she had "put Zimbabwe on the map" with her Olympic heroics in Athens. It was the nation’s first success since their women’s hockey team won a shock gold in 1980 – until Coventry delivered again and again.

"I felt that when I got home," she said. "You know, social media wasn't what it was back in 2004. Neither were cell phones really.

"So I didn't really fully understand the magnitude of what I had done until I got home. And then it was chaos - but an amazing, incredible chaos."

Coventry recalled fans lining the road from the airport waving flags, and the plane having to stop early on the runway due to the crowds.

"I remember speaking to my mum on the phone and she's like, 'Just be aware, like everyone's really excited'. And I'm like, 'I'm a swimmer, I'm not a soccer player'," she said.

"It was incredible. There were people that lined the long airport road, just cars all the way into town with the Zimbabwe flag. And they were so proud. It was very emotional."

While Athens was her breakout, she touched down in Sydney 2000 for her Olympic debut aged just 16. Also at the Games was Equatorial Guinea’s Eric Moussambani, who became an unlikely global icon as 'Eric the Eel' after almost failing to complete his 100m freestyle heat.

"I do remember meeting Eric and seeing him," said Coventry.

"Smaller African countries, we were all sort of stuck together... In the warm-up pool, you would have all your big countries that would have their massage tables and their cold pools – and there'd be us, all just standing there with our backpacks."

On Moussambani’s now-famous swim: "That’s the incredible thing and the powerful thing about the Olympic Games… to be brave enough to stand on that block and to try – that sends so many incredibly strong messages."

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