International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry made a surprise trip to Colorado Springs last weekend, her first visit to the United States in her new role.
Coventry, the first woman and first African to lead the Switzerland-based organization, came for Saturday’s induction of Anita DeFrantz, a longtime IOC member, into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Hall of Fame.
During her unannounced appearance in Colorado, Coventry spent time with the mayors of the two upcoming Olympics in the United States, the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and other officials.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall called it “a pleasure” to meet with Coventry.
“President Coventry brings a remarkable presence — she’s confident, curious and incredibly down to earth,” Mendenhall said in a statement, adding that Coventry’s “love for sport and the Olympic movement was unmistakable.”
The pair talked about the 41-year-old Coventry recently moving her young family from Zimbabwe to Lausanne, Switzerland, where the IOC is headquartered, the mayor said. She said she also “shared our priorities as we begin planning for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”
The focus of the IOC president’s only stop while in the U.S., however, was honoring DeFrantz. Coventry is expected to return in the coming months, and has already been formally invited to Utah, a place she’s never been, by Olympic organizers.
Mendenhall, who attended the induction ceremony, said DeFrantz is “a true trailblazer, and the only other woman to run for IOC president. It was a powerful moment, and I’m looking forward to building a strong relationship with President Coventry as we move toward 2034.”
At the ceremony, Coventry introduced DeFrantz, who is battling multiple sclerosis and cancer.
“Anita has never shied away from asking the tough questions or from standing up for what she believes in,” Coventry said. “She’s a pioneer. And because she walked a harder path, she made it easier for all of us to walk ours.”
The IOC president said it was an honor for her to be there “for someone who’s been a mentor and a friend — not only to me, but to so many others around the world,” telling DeFrantz, “the Olympic Movement is stronger because of you.”
DeFrantz expressed her surprise at seeing Coventry.
“I can’t believe that the President of the IOC came all the way here. I am so grateful for this opportunity to say thanks, because everyone in this room, although you may not know how, had something to do with my success,” DeFrantz said. “We are one team.”
DeFrantz, 72, remains the only Black woman with an Olympic medal in rowing after earning bronze at the sport’s debut in the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal. A decade later, DeFrantz became the fifth woman and the first African-American elected to the Switzerland-based IOC.
She was also the first woman to be elected vice president of the IOC, a powerful position she held in the lead up to Utah’s first Olympics, the 2002 Winter Games, and was named to a second time.
DeFrantz was a key supporter of Coventry’s bid to succeed longtime IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany. Coventry bested the six other candidates in the race on the first ballot in March, and is likely to still be in office when Utah hosts again in 2034.
In a video about her witnessing history being made with a woman now at the helm of the IOC, DeFrantz says simply, “I think that should be” and notes both the organization and “the Olympic Games have changed a great deal. It’s far more inclusive.”
Darren Hughes, vice president of operations and planning for the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, was also in Colorado Springs for what he said was a “casual, low-key visit” by Coventry.
“She has such a new style. It’s just very refreshing and exciting,” Hughes said. “She spoke from the heart ... she didn’t have a teleprompter. She didn’t have notes. She just spoke. She talked about Anita, the groundbreaking stuff she did as a woman.”
At a lunch with Mendenhall, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade and USOPC leaders, Coventry was introduced to several female athletes and their young children, Hughes said.
“It was just a really, relaxed fun sort of lunch,” he said. “Not a lot of business at all.”
Besides DeFrantz, the list of 2025 Hall of Fame honorees included:
- Steve Cash, sled hockey
- Gabby Douglas, artistic gymnastics
- Allyson Felix, track and field
- Susan Hagel, para archery, para track and field, wheelchair basketball
- Flo Hyman, legend: indoor volleyball
- Kerri Walsh Jennings, beach volleyball
- Mike Krzyzewski, coach: basketball
- Phil Knight, special contributor: Nike founder
- Bode Miller, alpine skiing
- Marla Runyan, para track and field
- Serena Williams, tennis
- 2010 Four-man bobsled team
- 2004 women’s wheelchair basketball team
Both DeFrantz and Felix are members of Utah’s organizing committee board as members of the IOC from the U.S. Miller, an Olympic champion, competed in five Winter Games, including in 2002, and the late Steven Holcomb, a member of the 2010 bobsled team, was from Park City.