EXACTLY 21 years after she lifted the nation’s spirits and flew the country’s flag high because of her sporting achievements, Kirsty Coventry has returned to cheer Zimbabweans again, providing yet another golden moment for her motherland. In 2004, in the swimming pools of Athens in Greece, Coventry became the first individual athlete to win a medal for Zimbabwe at the Olympic Games, kick-starting a series that would see her not only become the country’s fabled “Golden Girl”, but Africa’s most decorated Olympian as she would harvest more medals at the 2008 edition in Beijing, China. Fast forward to 2025 and in the country where she struck gold in the swimming pool, the Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture powered to a stunning International Olympic Committee (IOC) election victory that broke the ceiling in the 130-year history of the world’s biggest sporting institution. She became the first woman president of the IOC after convincingly beating a very strong field of revered contestants, who are highly-rated sports administrators including Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, a Spanish sports executive and financial analyst who currently serves as the vice president of the IOC and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. Coventry polled 49 of the 97 votes at stake, Samaranch had 28 and Coe, a very distant third with a paltry eight. Thus Zimbabweans, Africans and the global sporting family at large have every reason to celebrate Coventry’s milestone. Her historic triumph sees her become the first African to lead the IOC and the youngest person to assume leadership of the Movement after its founding president Pierre de Coubertin, who was 33 when he ascended to the helm. While the huge election victory has naturally drawn massive celebrations and an outpouring of love for Coventry from across the globe, Zimbabweans must draw extra inspiration from her historic feat. At 41, she was the youngest among those who were vying for the IOC presidency yet in her career as an athlete, as a sports administrator and as a Cabinet Minister, Coventry has been an epitome of resilience and determination. Zimbabweans can only repay the kind of faith and confidence that the world has reposed in Coventry by ensuring we all put shoulders to the wheel and uplift our sporting standards, that have over the years slumped. As a small nation, we have already shown the world that we can produce gold medallists at the ultimate global sporting competition — the Olympics, having done so at this country’s birth in 1980 when the Women’s hockey team won gold at the Moscow Games in Russia. Indeed, her triumph in the IOC elections in which the Government has naturally led the way in celebrating, is an epic moment for Zimbabwe. The stuff that real history is made of, a triumph that has left even some of this beautiful country’s detractors not only in awe, but having to admit the folly of their negative campaigning, which sadly for them could not sway the IOC voters. Coventry has a vision to see the IOC playing a bigger role in bridging the gap between the “Haves and the Have nots” and our various national sporting associations must implement policies that deliberately uplift marginalised sectors of our sport. Her election should inspire the young people in the country to take sport more seriously from a very young age. It should also inspire more women to participate in sport. After all it is women, who have achieved the most for Zimbabwe on the international sporting stage, starting with the hockey Golden Girls, through to the netball Gems who have been to the two World Cup showcases and the women’s football team — the Mighty Warriors— who reached the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Of course, Coventry’s election does not mean Zimbabwe is now capable of hosting the Olympics, but her illustrious career as an Olympian has inspired thousands of young athletes to take up swimming as their discipline of choice. Her extensive experience and profound knowledge of the sporting ecosystem is a feat which all out sporting institutions can only tap into. It is through her passion and vision for sport that as Minister, she has demanded professionalism at national associations. We believe that this country is endowed with the talent but that talent could come to nought if not accorded the important support systems especially those that guarantee Long Term Athlete Development. She has made this country proud since her teenage days when she competed in the Commonwealth Games. In her new role as IOC president, Zimbabweans can only make her proud by ensuring we produce Olympic medallists and grow the numbers of our athletes who qualify for the quadrennial Games. Her manifesto was based on the principles of Ubuntu which speaks to and prioritises team work and collectivism over individualism. Ubuntu asserts that society shapes our humanity: “I am because we are.” This is a guiding principle that enhances a practical approach to interpersonal relationships. A principle so valuable our national supporting associations and Zimbabweans at large should adopt in growing our sport, our economy and our beautiful country. Thank you Kirsty for the Olympic legacy.