Kirsty Coventry was left embarrassed at a recent press conference as she struggled to answer to queries around multiple recent developments and had to say ‘I’m not aware’ repeatedly.
“I am not aware,” said International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Kirsty Coventry in a bizarre press conference as she was caught uninformed on multiple recent developments. She also took a dig at her PR team as she continuously struggled to respond the questions asked in the conference.
Coventry, who became the first woman and African to be elected as the IOC President last year, was asked about the recent statement of Germany’s President disapproving the country’s bid for the 2036 Olympics. She was also asked a question around Russian anti-doping agency’s involvement in doping during Sochi Winter Games in 2014 and the involvement of FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Board of Peace.
To all these questions, Coventry said that she could not answer as she was totally unaware of these developments.
Coventry’s bizarre press conference
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday said that it would be inappropriate for the country to host the 2036 Olympics as they will be exactly 100 years after the Games were hosted by Nazi Germany.
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry snapped at her PR team, repeatedly saying ‘I was not aware’ during a news conference, in response to questions about recent events, including a statement from Germany opposing the 2036 bid due to historical sensitivity. pic.twitter.com/xH2dQNtGCF
— DW News (@dwnews) February 20, 2026
When asked about the opinions of IOC over this, Coventry said: “Frankly, and I’m looking at my team because I was not aware that Germany had made any comments in and around 2036. So I don’t really have an opinion on on it.”
Soon after that another reporter asked that a known whistleblower informed WADA weeks ago that the current chair of the Russian Anti Doping Agency was directly involved with the widespread doping surrounding the Sochi Games in 2014 and that the IOC was aware of this.
Coventry slammed her team in front of the press, saying someone will have to be dismissed as she remained uninformed about this as well.
“OK, I really looking at my team and maybe someone needs to be dismissed because I’m not aware of that either. So, but I would be very interested to find out more about it,” she said.
Another question further added to her embarrassment when she was asked if the Olympic committee will look into IOC member Infantino’s involvement in a political project at the ‘Board of Peace’.
“Well, again, I was not aware of it. So now that you guys have made us aware of it, we’ll go back and then of course, we’ll have a look into it,” she said.
End of Article
