Let the Games Begin: Auburn's Coventry, IOC president, opens 2026 Winter Olympics

AUBURN, Ala. – Addressing Olympians – and the world – at Friday’s Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry spoke from experience. 

A veteran from five summer Olympics – from 2000-16, the former Auburn national champion swimmer won seven medals, the most by an African athlete.

“I know what it feels like – that mix of excitement and nerves,” said Coventry, the first woman and first person from Africa to be elected IOC president. “Your whole life of hard work, of early mornings, long days, sacrifices, setbacks – it all comes down to this. I know that feeling, when you realize – this is it. You’ve made it.

“So first, be proud. Be proud of how far you’ve come. And now, take it all in. Enjoy it. Enjoy every second.”

Elected as the youngest IOC president in March 2025 at the age of 41, the International Swimming Hall of Fame member became one of the most powerful people in global sports less than a decade after her concluding her swimming career in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In 2024, the two-time gold medalist returned to her alma mater to speak at Auburn University's Spring Commencement ceremonies while visiting with the Auburn swimming & diving team after practice.

Auburn's most decorated Olympian, Coventry helped the Tigers win NCAA championships in 2003 and 2004. After winning gold, silver and bronze medals in Athens, Greece, in 2004, the Zimbabwe native returned to the Plains and won three individual NCAA titles in 2005 while earning SEC Female Athlete of the Year honors.

In total, Coventry racked up seven national titles, 25 All-American honors, and was named the SEC Swimmer of the Year and Honda Sports Award winner in 2005, recognizing the most outstanding female swimming of the year. Her 200 back record on the Plains still stands. Coventry is a 2006 College of Human Sciences graduate with a degree in hotel and restaurant management.  

"I'd never been to the States before," Coventry recalled in 2024. "I'd never swum with a team before. We were on a mission to prove ourselves, get better and make each other better, and our coaches allowed for us to do that."

Then-Auburn head coach David Marsh and assistant coach Kim Brackin informed Coventry that, because of a surplus of backstrokers, the team needed her to compete in the 400 individual medley instead of the 100 back at the 2003 NCAA Championship.

Unaccustomed to swimming the longer medley distance, Coventry initially resisted.

"I only realized after the meet that the team, and what the team was trying to achieve, was so much more important than my individual goals," she said. "That's a life lesson I've taken with me that I never would have learned anywhere else other than here because I never had the opportunity of being on a team and making a sacrifice for people I loved and admired."

Not only did Coventry's willingness to swim the 400 IM help the Tigers win the NCAA title, it also paid dividends for Kirsty's career.

"The 400 IM became one of my best events. I won a gold medal in it," said Coventry, making her point to an attentive audience. "I'm grateful for them pushing me out of my comfort zone."

Coventry carried that lesson after her swimming career, serving as Zimbabwe's Minister of Sports, Arts and Recreation and a member of the International Olympic Committee, positioning her for the lofty title she now holds. 

"Those things you are learning now, you might not realize it, but those are things I've been able to fall back on," said Coventry, who encouraged Auburn's student-athletes to conclude their swimming careers on their own terms.

"I left the sport loving it," she said. "That, to me, was super important."

In a 2016 interview before her final Olympics, Coventry credited Auburn with helping her reach a childhood goal.

"It was a huge role,” she said. “Coming over and getting a scholarship to come to Auburn was the biggest thing that could have ever happened to my swimming career.

"Being a part of the team and being an Auburn Tiger, learning how to be in a group of people who have the same goals, who work hard. And just the ethics of the group, led by David (Marsh), that changed my whole outlook.

"From a little kid, I always wanted to go to the Olympic games. I remember telling my mom and dad when I was 9, ‘I'm going to go to the Olympics. I want to win a medal.' Coming to Auburn and knowing that that was the right decision to help that dream come true.

"I just loved my time there. I chose Auburn because it was a smaller environment, and it reminded me of home. I got along with the coaches super well. Had 60 really great friends, who were there to try to do their best and achieve their dreams. That level of professionalism, even in an amateur sport, was just seen every day, and it completely turned my career around."

During that interview, Coventry said the Olympic movement had changed her life. A decade later, she returned to the biggest stage in sports, to open the 2026 Games:

“This is why we all love the Olympic Games. Because through you, we see the very best of ourselves. You remind us that we can be brave. That we can be kind. And that we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall.

And to everyone watching, here in Italy and around the world – thank you for joining this moment. Thank you for believing in the magic of the Olympic Games.

When we see an athlete stumble and find the strength to rise, we are reminded that we can do the same.

When we see rivals embrace at the end of a finish line, we are reminded that we can choose respect.

When we see grace, courage and friendship – we remember the kind of people we all want to be.

The spirit of the Olympic Games is about so much more than sport. It is about us – and what makes us human.

In Africa, where I’m from, we have a word: ubuntu. It means: I am because we are. That we can only rise by lifting others. That our strength comes from caring for each other.

No matter where you come from, we all know this spirit – it lives and breathes in every community.

I see this spirit most clearly at the Olympic Games. Here, athletes from every corner of our world compete fiercely – but also respect, support and inspire one another. They remind us that we are all connected, that our strength comes from how we treat each other, and that the best of humanity is found in courage, compassion and kindness.

So let these Games be a celebration of what unites us – of everything that makes us human.

This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best that we can be – together.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

On Friday, Kirsty Coventry took another step in her historic career.

A seven-time Olympic medalist, Auburn legend, & now the first woman to lead the IOC, Kirsty continues to shape the future of global sport with the same excellence she displayed for @AuburnSwimDive.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/Jj59OqbkTR

— Auburn Tigers (@AuburnTigers) February 9, 2026