Four days before taking office as International Olympic Committee President-elect, two-time Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry sat down with CGTN Sports Scene's Zhu Mandan for a roundtable from Lausanne, Switzerland.
Recalling her first Olympic moment at age eight, Coventry described watching the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics on a small TV in Zimbabwe as "transformative"—a spark that led her to Olympic gold.
She applauded the Chinese mainland for turning Beijing into the world's first "dual Olympic city," hosting the Summer Games in 2008 and the Winter Games in 2022, and for putting venues to sustainable use.
"The Chinese mainland's approach shows how powerful legacy planning can shape the future of the Games," Coventry said, emphasizing that smart investments in infrastructure and community programmes can inspire generations.
As she prepares to lead the IOC, Coventry believes that lessons from Beijing's Olympic legacy will guide new strategies, making the Games more inclusive, innovative, and globally impactful.
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IOC President-elect Coventry impressed by China's Olympic legacy work
cgtn.com
