Kirsty Coventry, newly elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), received a hero’s welcome upon her return to Zimbabwe.
The nation celebrated her victory as a significant milestone, especially given Zimbabwe’s history of international isolation.
Coventry, 41, who also serves as Zimbabwe’s sports minister, made history as the first woman and the first African to lead the global Olympic movement.
Coventry’s election, where she defeated six other candidates in Greece, was met with enthusiastic celebration in Harare.
Traditional dancers, cricketers, karate practitioners, and schoolchildren greeted her at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Speakers at the ceremony, including Women Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa, emphasized the national pride and global visibility Coventry’s achievement brings to Zimbabwe.
Coventry, a former Olympic swimmer, is Africa’s most decorated Olympian, holding seven Olympic medals, including back-to-back gold in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2004 and 2006 Games.
While her swimming career was widely celebrated, her 2018 appointment as sports minister drew scrutiny due to the Zimbabwean government’s human rights record.
Critics also raised concerns in 2020 about her receiving a government farm lease.