Why the IOC president’s Utah visit is important to U.S. Olympic leaders

Even though the International Olympic Committee’s new president, Kirsty Coventry, visited Utah this week, she didn’t make it to the nearby Colorado Springs headquarters of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

But the USOPC still benefited from the day Coventry spent in the state talking about the 2034 Winter Games with a wide range of Utahns, from Gov. Spencer Cox and other elected officials to a grade school assembly to the teens on the Utah Lady Grizzlies hockey teams.

How did that help the country’s national Olympic committee? By showcasing the interest in the U.S. for hosting the Olympics and Paralympics that follow for athletes with disabilities. Besides Utah’s 2034 Winter Games, the U.S. is also hosting the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

“My reports were it was an astounding success and we’re very pleased to make sure she sees the breadth of excitement and enthusiasm about our hosting responsibilities,” USOPC Chair Gene Sykes, who is also a member of the Switzerland-based IOC, told reporters Friday.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, first lady Abby Cox, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Fraser Bullock, president and executive chair of the Utah 2034 organizing committee, and Brad Wilson, CEO and vice chair of the Utah 2034 organizing committee, from left, participate in an Olympic-style opening ceremony celebrating Washington Elementary’s participation in Champion Schools 34, Utah 2034’s statewide education initiative from Ken Garff for Good, at Washington Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

“She met political leaders in the state, people who have a lot of vested interest” in how the Games are perceived by the IOC, he said. “I think she was really pleased to meet so many community groups and schoolchildren.”

What was important about Coventry’s time in Utah, Sykes said, was having the chance to see for herself “many years ahead of the Games, how engaged Utah really is in preparations” for what will be the state’s second Winter Games.

Coventry, an Olympic champion swimmer from Zimbabwe, was elected last year as the IOC’s first woman and first African president. She had only been to Utah once before, to teach a swimming clinic years ago.

Her interactions with Utahns left an impression. In comments released by the Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Coventry said she was struck by how much Utahns back hosting again.

“You know what’s been remarkable? Just the genuine full support for the success of 2034,” she said, marveling at “that kind of commitment and full support from all of the different parties. There’s one goal. There’s one vision.”

IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks during an Olympic-style opening ceremony celebrating Washington Elementary’s participation in Champion Schools 34, Utah 2034’s statewide education initiative from Ken Garff for Good, at Washington Elementary School in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. | Tess Crowley, Deseret News

Utah’s shared focus, Coventry said, is on “how are we going to welcome the world. How are we going to make this an incredible Games for everybody. How are we going to ensure the athletes are going to love everything we do. I think that is just very special and unique to Utah 2034.”

Sykes said Coventry made “a last-minute decision” to travel to Utah after attending this year’s Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. Because the USOPC had a board meeting the same day, Sykes said neither he nor CEO Sarah Hirshland were able to join Coventry in Utah.