HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry arrived Sunday in her home country of Zimbabwe to a hero’s welcome as her victory is celebrated as a national milestone.
The southern African country has faced years of isolation and sanctions by the United States and other Western nations.
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Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry welcomed by officials at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry, second from right, is welcomed by officials at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Kirsty Coventry arrives for a press conference after she was elected as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Kirsty Coventry listens a question during a press conference after she was elected as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
The 41-year-old Coventry, who is also Zimbabwe's sports minister, was the only female candidate in the IOC presidency race and became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the global Olympic movement.
She beat six other candidates in the vote in Greece on Thursday, including the head of world track and field, the head of international cycling and a member of Jordan's royal family.
“It’s not just my success, it is our success. We broke down barriers,” Coventry said in Zimbabwe.
Dancers in animal fur kilts and head gear made from bird feathers stomped the ground as part of a traditional African folklore dance to the sound of trumpets and drums to welcome Coventry home as she arrived at an airport in the capital, Harare. Dozens of others, including female cricketers, young karatekas and children in school uniform cheered loudly.
“Men have dominated sport for so long, I am thrilled that one of our own is now at the very top where she can tackle the issues affecting women in sports,” said Abigail Madera, a female boxing referee.
“This is not just a personal victory, it will put Zimbabwe on the global stage,” said Women Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa at the welcoming ceremony at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Coventry is an ex-Zimbabwe swimmer and was the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 200 meters backstroke at the 2004 and 2006 Games. She retired from swimming after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 with seven Olympic medals and is the most decorated Olympian from Africa.
Coventry was widely praised in her country as a source of pride and a unifying figure during her swimming career.
Her decision to take the job of sports minister in 2018 has been scrutinized, though, given the Zimbabwean government has long been questioned over its human rights record and is regularly accused of clamping down on political opposition.
Critics in 2020 also accused Coventry of benefitting from political patronage after accepting a government lease on a farm that was seized during the country’s often violent land reforms that evicted about 4,000 white farmers for tens of thousands of Blacks more than two decades ago.
Many of those critics have welcomed her election and posted congratulatory messages.
Coventry has said she will resign from her Zimbabwe minister's job to move to the Olympic home city of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her eight-year term in charge of the IOC begins in June.
Pressing issues at the Olympic body include athletes' benefits, Russia’s future after its suspension over the war in Ukraine, gender eligibility, and how to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump with Los Angeles set to host the next Summer Olympics in 2028.
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Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry speaks at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry welcomed by officials at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Newly elected International Olympic Committee IOC President Kirsty Coventry, second from right, is welcomed by officials at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe airport in Harare, Zimbabwe, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)
Kirsty Coventry arrives for a press conference after she was elected as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Kirsty Coventry listens a question during a press conference after she was elected as the new IOC President at the International Olympic Committee 144th session in Costa Navarino, western Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
