2025 - An Incredible Year in Review

As we close the final chapter of 2025, I find myself reflecting on a year that will be remembered as a turning point....not just for sport, but for what sport represents.

On March 20th, in Costa Navarino, Greece, the International Olympic Committee elected Kirsty Coventry as its 10th President. With 49 votes on the first ballot, the seven time Olympic swimming medalist from Zimbabwe shattered a ceiling that had stood for 131 years. She became the first woman and the first African to lead the Olympic Movement.

I watched that moment with tears in my eyes.

For those of us who have spent decades working within the Olympic family, pushing for greater representation, advocating for voices too long unheard... this was not simply an election. It was a declaration. As Kirsty said that day: "This is a signal that we are truly global."

And she has wasted no time proving it.

Within months of taking office on June 23rd, President Coventry launched the "Fit for the Future" initiative, a comprehensive reassessment of how the IOC listens, decides, and moves forward. She established four working groups addressing the most pressing challenges facing our Movement: the Olympic program, the Youth Olympic Games, commercial partnerships, and the protection of women's sport. She appointed Allyson Felix, Sebastian Coe, and other leaders to guide this work. She paused. She listened. She built consensus.

This is leadership.

Earlier this month, President Coventry chaired her first Olympic Summit in Lausanne, where the Movement reaffirmed a principle I have championed my entire career: athletes have a fundamental right to access sport free from political interference. Youth athletes should never be held accountable for the actions of their governments. Sport is their access to hope.

In November, I watched as President Coventry stood in Ancient Olympia for the lighting of the Milano Cortina 2026 flame: her first as President. The torch now travels across Italy, carried by 10,001 bearers through 300 towns, on its way to Milan for the Opening Ceremony on February 6th.

But 2025 was remarkable beyond the Olympic Movement.

This was the year women's sport commanded center stage. England retained their UEFA Women's European Championship in a penalty shootout watched by record audiences. India won their first Women's Cricket World Cup. The Women's Rugby World Cup captivated fans around the globe. A'ja Wilson became the first WNBA player to win regular-season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP in the same season. Coco Gauff claimed her second Grand Slam title at the French Open.

This was the year records fell. Alexander Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goal record at age 39. Rory McIlroy finally won the Masters, completing his career Grand Slam after a decade of heartbreak. Noah Lyles won his fourth consecutive 200-meter world title, tying Usain Bolt. Shohei Ohtani delivered perhaps the greatest single postseason performance in baseball history: three home runs and 10 strikeouts in one game.

This was the year sport reminded us what perseverance looks like.

And this was the year the road to Los Angeles 2028 became undeniably real. Ticket registration opens January 14th. Volunteer programs are building our community. The Games are coming home to California.

I think about the nine year old Kirsty Coventry, watching the Barcelona Olympics on television in Zimbabwe, dreaming of one day competing. I think about the nine year old girls watching her now; seeing someone who looks like them leading the most powerful organization in world sport.

That is what 2025 gave us. Possibility made visible.

Sport belongs to everyone. And everyone, finally, can see themselves in its highest positions.

Here's to the year ahead. May we continue to build a Movement worthy of the athletes who inspire us.

Happy New Year.