Coventry, the International Olympic Committee President-elect: Asia is the key to the future of the Olympics

[Global Times Special Correspondent Zhang Weike] International Olympic Committee (IOC) President-elect Costi Coventry recently delivered his first official speech at the 45th Plenary Conference of the Asian Olympic Council (OCA) held in Kuwait, clearly positioning Asia as the core of the future of the Olympic movement and promising to promote global sports development through listening and collaboration.

Coventry said that Asia is not only an "important part" of the Olympic community, but also a "center of the future." She said that Asia is "full of vitality, passion, innovation and ambition" and reviewed the region's outstanding contributions in recent years - hosting three consecutive Olympic Games (2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics), and the forthcoming first Olympic E-sports Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2027. "The scale and influence of the Beijing Olympics have set a new benchmark for the world." She said that Asia is redefining the boundaries of the Olympics through continuous innovation and high standards.

As the first IOC chairman from Africa (Zimbabwe) and not from European and American backgrounds, Coventry will officially take over as Thomas Bach on June 23. She proposed two core tasks: one is to promote the development of high-level competitive sports through the Olympics, and the other is to popularize Olympic values ​​from the grassroots level. To achieve this goal, she promised to take "listening" as the priority action principle and invites Olympic committees and athletes from all countries and regions to share their demands directly. "Only by listening to each other can we move forward together." She specifically mentioned that she would focus on supporting athletes to join the entire Olympics.

In addition, Coventry said that he will focus on emerging fields in the future, such as the integration of e-sports and traditional sports, and continue Bach's support policy to Asia during his tenure. “The voice of Asia must be heard, and my door is always open.” She said she looks forward to working in depth with the Asian Olympic community in the coming months to ensure that the Olympic movement “maintains influence and leaves an extraordinary legacy for the younger generation.”

This speech is Coventry's first public appearance since he was elected as the chairman of the IOC. During the OCA conference, the Olympic Committees of Asian countries discussed a number of strategic issues, including improving gender representation, using social media to attract young audiences, and future event planning. It is worth noting that the preparations for the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games and the 2030 Doha Asian Games have also been included in the agenda, and the time coordination issue between the Asian Games and the Olympic qualifiers remains to be resolved.