By Princess Eugene Majuru, Princess of Harare.
Harare, Zimbabwe (News of The South) Zimbabwean sports Minister and former gold Olympian swimmer Kirsty Coventry is set to embarass Zimbabwe should she win the post of President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) which she is currently campaigning for. It’s better we call a spade a spade and save Zimbabweans the walk of shame.
Coventry who was appointed Sports Minister in September 2018 has failed dismally to achieve anything or make her voice heard. In Parliament she is a back bench who hardly says anything and has no impact whatsoever. Zimbabweans were excited and fully behind her in her appointment, her experience as an international athlete would have brought good results to Zimbabwe sports had she been a good leader but till today 2025 achievement record is zero. She lacks interest in developing sports. As a former swimmer she has even failed to promote the sport, Zimbabwe national footnall team doesn’t even have a home ground. If elected to the post of IOC she will be a disaster. As Zimbabweans we should support our own but supportung Coventry for IOC post would be betrayal to the sporting fraternity.
Various councils have destroyed sporting facilities and Coventry has watched in silence and failed to raise her voice to encourage sports facilities to be left for community activities and sports development. Zimbabwe currently does not have enough sports facilities and people have nothing else to do and loiter around being unproductive. What a shame, it’s so sad, what future does Zimbabwe sports have? Coventry’s failure to even engage corporates to support sports or national teams is heart breaking for many. In 2019 the Zimgems netball team who qualified for the the first ever World cup and played in Liverpool in England. Coventry was expected to step up and play ger role as Sports Minister but she completely failed to ensure the team was well prepared or catered for the gaames. Former Deputy Minister Yeukai Simbanegavi was very supportive for the Zimgems in Liverpool. She took onboard advice given to support the team in Liverpool and the team performed really well. Simbanegavi would have made a gteat Sports Minister. Coventry has no passion for her current role and should back off from the bid to become International Olympic Committee President.
Coventry’s poor performance has had a very bad impact on Zimbabwe’s sports and the damage will take long to repair. Fixing the damage caused by Coventry requires someone who is results driven, has a passion and understanding and good management skills, someone who is able to interact with many stakeholders, engage with the community research on current problems and solve them, Coventry is merely a ceremonial Minister. It’s embarrassing to hear Coventry talk about building sports facilities for All Africa games, many Zimbabweans have called this a joke.
In February 2024, Zimbabwe’s Ultimate Fighting Championship athlete Themba Gorimbo described Coventry as “the worst sports minister ever.”
Coventry took part in the 200m summer Olympics in 2004 Coventry a former Olympic swimmer and world record holder, she is the most decorated Olympian from Africa. She is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and was elected the Chairperson of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide in early 2018. Being a good athlete doesn’t necessarily mean one is a good administrator. Sportsmanship requires good fitness while leadership requires creativity, hardwork, research, good planning amd implementation, reflection and changing strategy when things don’t work. Coventry doesn’t have all the necessary skills.
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