Soon after Kirsty Coventry became president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last summer, she held a private consultation with IOC members to gauge their feelings on a range of important issues. At the end of the session, Czech representative Jiri Kejval stood up to speak. “I’ve been a member of the IOC for five years,” he said, “and this is the first time somebody has asked my opinion.”
It has been a year since Coventry was elected president, crushing competition that included British candidate Sebastien Coe in her path to becoming the first woman and first African to lead the Olympic movement. It has been nine months since she officially replaced Thomas Bach, and IOC members and officials speak of significant cultural change from Bach’s 12-year reign.
