Coventry lauds Beijing's Olympic legacy, vows greater athlete engagement

Kirsty Coventry, the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), lauded Beijing's hosting of the 2008 and 2022 Olympic Games, highlighting its role in boosting global sports participation.

Coventry praised Beijing's unique legacy as the only city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, noting that these events have inspired a surge in sports participation among China's youth, particularly in winter sports.

"I have incredibly good memories from Beijing 2008, and I have even more good memories when I went back in 2022 when the swimming pool was turned into the curling center. The relationship with China has always been strong and will continue to be that. Looking at the numbers that China was able to bring into sports through the Beijing and Winter Olympic Games, I think there are so many lessons that the world can learn from how engaging with communities has really benefited. We've seen so many young people now engaged in winter sports," Coventry told China Media Group (CMG).

Coventry, 41, was elected as the 10th IOC president on Thursday, becoming the first woman and the first African to lead the global Olympic movement. She won the presidency in the first round of voting during the 144th IOC Session in Greece and will take office after June 23, succeeding Thomas Bach.

Outlining her transition plan, Coventry said she would work closely with Bach over the next three months.

"[I] will be sitting down with the seating president, with President Bach and having some really good time to have a handover and transition. During that time, I want to also bring the candidates together. We've had so many incredibly strong conversations and ideas that have been shared over the last six months and I really like to take the opportunity to investigate and look into some of those opportunities that we could drive forward together. And then it's going to be about engaging with all of our stakeholders, with our top sponsors, with our IOC members, with the international federations, the NOCs to really have a pause, identify where we have come from, look where we want to go in the future and then make a clear and decisive programme," she said.

A former Olympic swimming champion, Coventry is one of Africa's most decorated athletes, with seven Olympic medals, including two golds. Since joining the IOC in 2013, she has chaired the IOC Athletes' Commission, advocating for athletes' rights.

Coventry's campaign for the presidency focused on modernizing the Olympic movement, increasing youth engagement, and strengthening athletes' roles in decision-making.

She has also emphasized the importance of digital transformation to make the Games more accessible and relevant to younger audiences, as well as sustainability efforts to ensure that the Olympic Games remain environmentally and financially viable.

Coventry has served as Zimbabwe's Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation since 2018, working to develop grassroots sports initiatives and expand opportunities for young athletes.

Coventry lauds Beijing's Olympic legacy, vows greater athlete engagement

The momentum of improvement in China-Japan relations has not come easily, and it is particularly important to maintain the political foundation of relations between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Tokyo on Saturday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during his meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo.

As close neighbors, relationship between China and Japan holds significance that goes beyond bilateral scope, Wang noted, saying the two sides should face up to history and look to the future, maintain the right direction of bilateral relations, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, promote steady and long-term bilateral relations, and contribute to peace and prosperity of the two countries and Asia.

Wang stressed that correctly understanding and treating history is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community, political foundation for Japan to develop relations with its neighboring countries, and an important criterion for testing whether Japan can abide by its commitment to peaceful development.

Four political documents between China and Japan have made clear provisions on history and the Taiwan question, which must be strictly implemented, Wang said.

For his part, Iwaya said Japan has long followed the path of peaceful development and attaches great importance to abiding by the four political documents between Japan and China, adding Japan's position on the Taiwan question, based on the Japan-China joint communique in 1972, remains unchanged.

In November last year, leaders of the two countries reached an important consensus on comprehensively advancing the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between Japan and China and building constructive and stable bilateral ties, Iwaya said.

Based on the consensus, the two sides have made efforts to promote the improvement of bilateral relations, he added.

Seeing huge potential for bilateral cooperation, Iwaya said Japan is determined and willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with the Chinese side and further push for more results in cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

As the international situation is changing rapidly, Japan and China, as responsible countries, should work together to play a positive role in safeguarding regional peace and stability, Iwaya added.

Maintaining political foundation of China-Japan relations particularly important: Wang Yi