An Auburn woman leads the IOC into an Olympics in an 'increasingly divided' world. Here's one way Auburn helped prepare Kirsty Coventry for the job
This year's Winter Olympics begin in earnest with the opening ceremony on Friday, and also mark the first Olympics with Auburn swimming legend Kirsty Coventry leading as IOC president.
Kirsty Coventry has bounced from obligation to obligation in recent weeks throughout the leadup to the 2026 Winter Olympics, which begin in earnest Friday with the opening ceremonies. As International Olympics Committee president, she’s been shuffled in and out of cars and driven around northeast Italy to see different competition sites, to attend different meetings, and to sign off on countless decisions.
Listening to her speak, the most fun she had at an obligation seemed to be her visit to the Olympic Village — getting to witness the athletes hang out together regardless of race or religion, which she feels is at the core of the purpose of the Olympics and surely drove her to run for president of the IOC before her election win in March 2025.
Sort that list of her obligations by most fun, and surely the press conferences are much further down.
Coventry navigates a crowded field of landmines in front of the media. She acquiesces that the world is “increasingly divided.” In January, the mayor of Milan, one of the Winter Olympics host cities, called United States border patrol “a militia that kills.” Italy just this week claimed it thwarted a cyber-attack targeting the Olympics of Russian origin. The chairman of the LA28 Olympics Committee leading preparation for the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles came up in the newly released Epstein files. A petition signed by thousands including athletes was brought this week to the IOC by a Norwegian skier urging the Olympics to stop accepting sponsorships from fossil fuel companies over climate concerns. The Pope is calling for the Olympic truce.
It’s amazing the worldwide issues now on the shoulders of an Auburn woman who studied in Haley Center.