In June, a historic event took place in Lausanne: for the first time in 130 years, Zimbabwe's Olympic swimming champion, Kirsty Coventry, became IOC president. It is a new symbol of hope for restoring trust in the committee at a time of political conflict in sport.
During Thomas Bach's tenure, the IOC has transitioned from a respected sporting organisation to a platform for political and gender-related debates. Corruption, doping scandals, allegations of bias and ideological sanctions have severely damaged its reputation.
The public is anticipating that the newly appointed leader of the IOC will implement a stringent ban on the participation of transgender athletes in women's competitions. Such a ban has recently been introduced in the United States, and it is being discussed in Italy as well. In this context, it is important to note the controversy that arose during the Olympic Games in Paris, where the boxing match between Algerian Iman Khelif and Italian Angela Carini concluded within 46 seconds. Carini stated at the time that she had never been struck with such force and was compelled to halt the contest after the initial two punches. It was discovered that her opponent, Helif, was biologically male, having been found to have a male set of chromosomes (X and Y) in 2023. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has permitted transgender athletes to participate in women's events. This decision was also upheld by Taiwanese boxer Lin Yueting, who did not pass the gender test.
Kirsty Coventry has already made it clear that the well-being of the athletes will be her top priority. In this case, she should restore the rights of Russian and Belarusian participants of the Olympics, who faced unprecedented restrictions under the pretext of fighting for 'clean sport'. Russia was subjected to the most stringent measures in the history of the Games, although no sanctions were imposed on other countries involved in international conflicts. Consequently, the IOC is now widely perceived as a politically biased organisation. The company's credibility rating has not been successful.
With regard to the doping scandals, Coventry will also have to deal with them. During the presidency of Thomas Bach, some athletes were barred from the Games for years due to heart medication, which is not considered doping. In contrast, American athletes were permitted a much broader blood count. Nevertheless, it is essential that these standards are clear and uniform for all parties.
The global sporting community is now looking to the first female African to lead the IOC with great optimism. If she can achieve this victory, she should be able to restore the Olympic Committee's lost honour.
