A young African woman is now standing at a brand-new starting point of the modern Olympic Movement. Kirsty Coventry has successfully taken on the challenge and is poised to assume one of the most powerful positions in the sports world. However, for this newly elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), there are numerous geopolitical obstacles lying ahead on her path.

At the age of 41, Coventry won the election with an overwhelming majority of votes after defeating six other candidates. This result has made her the tenth leader in the 130-year glorious history of the IOC in a natural way. Now, the challenge she faces is to lead the Olympic Movement forward in an era characterized by rapid digital transformation, growing political responsibilities, and increasingly prominent environmental issues.

"A new era calls for a new leader," Thomas Bach, the outgoing President of the IOC, said at the opening of the plenary session. Many people believe that this was the last boost the German leader gave to his favored candidate.

Indeed, it is high time for a female leader to emerge. She will take the chair that was once occupied by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. Coubertin once blatantly made discriminatory remarks against women, believing that the only role of women in the Olympic field was to crown the champions with laurel wreaths.

After being elected successfully, this woman from Zimbabwe expressed her deep gratitude to all those present: "I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart. Thank you to all the candidates. This has been an unforgettable and intense competition, which has made us better and made our beloved Olympic Movement more solid. I firmly believe that when we unite as one, we can jointly develop the ideas we hold dear. Thank you so much for this great honor."

Coventry, who currently serves as the Minister of Sports of Zimbabwe and is also an Olympic swimming champion from 2004 and 2008, ascended to the highest position of the IOC in a low-key and humble manner, but with an irresistible momentum to make history. She is not only the first female President in the history of the IOC but also the first one from Africa and the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

With Coventry's election, Africa has for the first time reached the peak of the Olympic Movement. Before this, except for Avery Brundage from the United States, all previous Presidents of the IOC were from Europe. Thomas Bach, the German who has been a strong advocate of gender equality at the Paris Olympics, believes that Coventry's succession marks the successful completion of his equality mission. During his tenure, the proportion of female members in the IOC session has increased significantly from less than 20% to 44%, and there are currently 48 female members in the organization. It is widely speculated that female votes played a crucial role in Coventry's election. In addition, 81 members of the session, accounting for three-quarters of the total number of members, were elected under Bach's leadership.

"Women are fully capable of taking on leadership roles," the newly elected President said recently, as if she had foreseen this glorious moment. She remains one of the most outstanding figures in the history of African sports and the African Olympic athlete with the most medals. At the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she won a total of seven medals (two gold, four silver, and one bronze). After retiring from sports, she took up the position of Minister of Sports of Zimbabwe and also serves as the President of the IOC Athletes' Commission, one of the most influential bodies within the IOC.

With these rich qualifications, she has obtained this leadership position. In this role, she needs to skillfully incorporate the perspectives of athletes and further enhance the inclusiveness of the Olympic Movement. Her excellent leadership of the Athletes' Commission and her role in the Executive Board have made her a focal point, especially in an era when diversity and gender equality are regarded as top priorities.

Although Coventry will not officially assume the presidency until June 23 when Bach steps down, she will soon have to face and deal with a series of major issues. These issues include the reintegration of Russian athletes into the Olympics, the economic difficulties faced by the World Anti-Doping Agency due to budget cuts in the United States, the controversy over transgender athletes participating in elite competitions, the loss of several major Olympic sponsors, the negotiation of broadcast contracts, and the selection of the host city for the 2036 Olympics.

One of the most pressing challenges she faces is the highly controversial issue of allowing transgender athletes to participate in elite sports events. Currently, the IOC allows transgender athletes to compete, but due to the lack of a unified universal standard, this measure has triggered diametrically opposed reactions worldwide, creating a polarized situation. Coventry has taken a relatively conservative stance on this issue. Instead of rushing to rewrite the existing rules, she actively encourages close cooperation among various federations to establish a unified common framework.

"I do not support transgender athletes competing against female athletes in the Olympics because it is unfair to female athletes. Ensuring the fairness of women's sports events is of utmost importance," she stated firmly, because she believes that "transgender women have inherent physical advantages in the female event category, which is likely to reduce the fair competition opportunities for biological female athletes."

Similarly, Coventry has promised to resolutely address the issue of gender inequality in leadership positions, believing that women should not be the exception in the sports world. Although some progress has been made in terms of gender equality, she is also acutely aware that there is still a great deal of work to be done. "At the 2024 Paris Olympics, we achieved gender equality in the competition events, but in the various federations and national committees, the gender gap remains very significant," she warned. "It's not just about increasing the number of women in the sports field; it's more important to ensure that they have a say and a vote in key positions. Female leadership should not be an exception but should become the norm in sports organizations," Coventry added.

Another major issue that Coventry needs to deal with is the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has left athletes from Russia and Belarus in a state of uncertainty regarding their participation in competitions for several years. She will have to handle the delicate issue of Russia's return to the Olympic stage with great care. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IOC has banned the Russian Olympic Committee from participating, and only a few athletes were allowed to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutrals. However, Russia's full return remains a controversial issue, and an appropriate balance needs to be found between diplomatic relations and sports integrity. Once she officially takes office as President in three months, whether Russia can return in time for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is likely to become one of the key issues during her tenure.

Coventry's stance on these issues is still somewhat ambiguous at present. In a recent statement, she said: "As the IOC, our responsibility is to ensure that all athletes have the opportunity to participate in the Olympics. This is not just about the major wars and conflicts in Europe and the Middle East; there are also wars and conflicts in Africa. If I am elected President of the IOC, I will establish a special task force to develop relevant guidelines to help us better deal with these conflict periods and prioritize the interests of athletes."

On the positive side, the newly elected President of the IOC will take over an organization with a sound financial situation. Therefore, there seems to be a guarantee of billions of dollars in revenue from media broadcast rights and sponsorship agreements. When Bach steps down, the IOC has already secured an income of $7.3 billion (approximately 6.7 billion euros) from 2025 to 2028 through broadcasts, partnerships, and other sources, and has already locked in an income of $6.2 billion (approximately 5.7 billion euros) from 2029 to 2032.

Last week, the IOC also announced the extension of its Olympic media broadcast rights agreement with NBCUniversal by an additional $3 billion (approximately 2.7 billion euros), with the validity period extended until 2036. However, the recent withdrawal of several sponsors, such as Japanese business giants Toyota and Panasonic, has triggered a strong call for the reform of the IOC's commercial structure. Nevertheless, financial stability does not guarantee a smooth ride in an environment where the sports field is increasingly influenced by politics, technology, and constantly changing social expectations.

In order to achieve financial growth while taking into account the basic values of the Olympic Movement, Coventry believes: "The key is to find the right approach to ensure that we first take good care of our stakeholders so as to hold high-level, wonderful comprehensive sports events. Yes, this requires more financial support, and we must find sustainable development methods. For example, when working with host cities, we are adjusting the cooperation model according to their existing actual conditions. We no longer blindly require the construction of new venues because this approach is no longer feasible at present. This transformation is not only helpful for increasing revenue but also for effectively controlling costs."

Coventry first joined the IOC session as an athlete representative 12 years ago and was later elected as a permanent member again. Since then, Bach has kept her close by and entrusted her with increasingly important responsibilities.