Zimbabwean swimmer and 10th President of the International Olympic Committee

Kirsty Coventry

Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator, and former competitive swimmer who is the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). She has served as the president of the IOC since 23 June 2025, and is the first woman, the first Zimbabwean, and the first African to hold the office, while also only the second non-European president of the IOC, following Avery Brundage who left office in 1972. Coventry served in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe from September 2018 to March 2025 as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation until September 2023 and then as Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture. A former Olympic swimmer and world record holder, she is the most decorated African Olympian.

Born

1983

September 16

Died

Living

Era

1980s

Country

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About

Kirsty, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1983 Born

Also on September 16

What else happened on this day, through history

681 Pope Honorius I is posthumously excommunicated by the Sixth Ecumenical Council.
1400 Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers.
1620 Pilgrims set sail for Virginia from Plymouth, England in the Mayflower.
1701 James Francis Edward Stuart, sometimes called the "Old Pretender", becomes the Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England and Scotland on the death of his father, James II.

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The world in 1983

When Kirsty arrived

april 12 Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
april 25 Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
april 25 Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit.
april 28 The West German news magazine Stern begins publishing excerpts from the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, later revealed to be forgeries.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on September 16

Alexander Vinokourov 1973– Kazakh cyclist and manager Anne Francis 1930–2011 American actress (born 1930) Daoguang Emperor of China (died 1850) 1782– Fan Bingbing 1981– Chinese actress, singer, and producer Micky Stewart 1932– English cricketer and coach Nick Jonas 1992– American singer-songwriter and guitarist Travis Wall 1987– American dancer and choreographer Ursula Franklin 1921– German-Canadian metallurgist (died 2016) Yuan Di 508–555 emperor of the Liang Dynasty (born 508)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1983

Aaron Peirsol 1983– American swimmer Amber Tamblyn 1983– American actress, author, model, director Ashleigh Ball 1983– Canadian voice actress and musician Brent Hayden 1983– Canadian swimmer Cheryl 1983– English singer and TV personality Chris Higgins 1983– American ice hockey player Clint Dempsey 1983– American soccer player Flying Lotus 1983– American rapper, DJ, and producer James Wade 1983– English darts player

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Kirsty's birthday September 16 Kirsty's zodiac Virgo When Kirsty arrived 1983