Online Reporter
Isdore Guvamombe-Reflections
One thing is certain: things have changed for the better at the International Olympic Committee since Zimbabwean athlete and administrator Kirsty Coventry took over reigns.
She is a great athlete, a great woman and a great administrator too who has made Zimbabwe, Africa and the world proud.
And, indeed, there is proof that she has tirelessly worked round the clock — albeit with due diligence and dexterity — to bring back sanity to an organisation that had become highly politicised to the point of teetering on the brink of sporting irrelevance.
Like or hate her, Coventry has been navigating the murky waters of geopolitics that pit powerful gangster nations in the West against Russia and Belarus.
At the end, great athletic prospects from the two countries lost traction in showcasing their skill at the IOC, at the alter of political expedience.
National flags and anthems — the trinkets that dignify, define, identify and connect athletes to the souls of their nations, where banned.
Under Coventry, the IOC is on track to its sanity and has managed to redefine who is female and who is male, under scientifically proven systems.
Under the pro-Western Thomas Bach administration at IOC which was replaced by Coventry, many female athletes had been disenfranchised by males, masquerading as females, under some obscure and unpalatable Western transgender rights. Sport fairness was chewed up in that mess.
Under Bach, everything became brazenly political. Sports under IOC had become boring and predictably pro-United States and pro-Western.
Athletes, who have nothing to do with the politics of their countries were barred from competing, based on nationality. Doping systems were abused in favour of the pro-US cabal.
That Coventry is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in summer, ahead of the 2028 Olympics, gives her the chance to discuss critical matters that will set the IOC free and reset its glamour.
The meeting with Trump presents an opportunity to depoliticise, detoxicate and do laundry on IOC and its old battered sporting image.
Sport must ignore the war between Russia and Ukraine in the same manner that it has ignored the bombing of Iran by Israel and the US, combined.
What is good for the goose should be good for the gander. Sport is sport. Politics is politics.
Sport by its nature must be unifying, healing and soothing, despite its competitive and entertaining nature.
When she meets Trump, Coventry needs to craft a way of informing him the importance of allowing athletes to compete freely and competitively outside politics.
There is no doubt that the world of sport has confidence in Coventry because of what she has achieved so far, in this short space. But in rallying behind her, they have high expectations that she continues pushing for the right things and for the good of the sport.
For example, in early May this year, the executive committee of IOC recommended that international sports organisations and federations lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes. What a good move! It’s a pure sporting decision.
But what boggles the mind is that the same sporting decision did not apply to Russian athletes and the Russian Olympic Committee. Coventry has a lot of work to do here and she can use her meeting with Trump to deal with this important issue.
The world over, it is known that Coventry is very fair-minded, strong in character and a great mover.
The good thing is that Coventry can leverage on the stepping stone provided by the fact that the International Paralympic Committee as well as more than 20 world sports federations, have already admitted Russians to official status in their tournaments.
That then leaves IOC with great pressure and it is very much trusted that Coventry will do her best to unlock this grid of politics and bring back sanity to IOC.
Delays in resolving the Russian athletes’ issue will depict to the world that the Coventry administration is complicity to Bach’s mistakes and political manipulation.
While Russia and Ukraine are at war, US-Israel are at war with Iran, using even more dangerous military tactics and weaponry, but the US and Israel athletes are free to compete under their national flags. This is a paradox.
The positive is that Trump himself, has been quoted in many fronts, saying he wanted to see all national teams, including Russia, at the 2028 Olympics in the United States.
And, true to this, discrimination against athletes on political grounds is contrary to the Olympic Charter. The charter is the nerve centre of IOC operations and decision- making that cannot be ignored.
So, as the IOC continues to navigate the ever-increasing complex sport realities and the glaring consequences of the current fissures of geopolitical nuances, that include the increasing number of wars and political tensions, Coventry’s trusted acumen, intelligence and leadership skills will be required to save sport from political contamination.
Today, the world waits with bated breath to see how best Coventry will continue navigating the stumps and potholes of politics in her great journey to bring back sanity and prosperity to IOC.
Isdore Guvamombe is a multiple award-winning veteran Zimbabwean journalist. Known by the sobriquet The Villager, he is a wordsmith revered for his extraordinary writing skills in his village and beyond. Feedback: WhatsApp +263775307560. E-mail [email protected]
dyton mupawaenda