Coventry is the former ISA vice president. Photo: IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected a new president – and it’s good news for surfing. The president-elect, Kirsty Coventry, is a 41-year-old, seven-time swimming Olympic medalist from Zimbabwe who competed in five editions of the Games. She’s the youngest person to hold the position, the first woman, and the first African. She also happens to have a connection to surfing, serving as vice president of the International Surfing Association (ISA) from 2016 to 2024.
It’s a pivotal moment for Olympic surfing as the ISA waits on the IOC’s response to its ambitious wishlist. Coventry assuming the head of the IOC bodes well for (at least some of) those wishes to come true.
The ISA is currently lobbying to squeeze longboard surfing into the LA 2028 Games. They also asked for an increase in the number of shortboarders to 36 for each gender (up from 24 for each gender at Paris 2024) and purportedly want to push SUP racing into the Games as soon as 2032. Simultaneously, negotiations are taking place to divvy up surfing’s Olympic payday; the LA 2028 Games will be the first edition in which surfing gets a cut of the massive Olympic TV rights revenue. The three “new” youth sports (surfing, skateboarding, and sport climbing) had been excluded from that revenue for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
The outgoing IOC president, Thomas Bach, was a fan of surfing. After all, it was his signature “Agenda 2020” plan that paved a shortcut path for those new “youth sports” to get into the Games. But now ISA President Fernando Aguerre has a true, like-minded ally at the helm of the Olympics – someone he can dial on his cell phone on a Sunday night to shoot the breeze, or give his two cents on Olympic affairs.
Does this mean that surfing is going to get preferential treatment? Probably not. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the most influential role held by someone who understands the sport, has been at surf events, and has a strong rapport with surfing’s leaders. Aguerre has already been speculating in Olympic specialty media that Coventry’s election could be “a signal” of longboard’s 2028 inclusion.
“Kirsty is a great friend of surfing and we are grateful for her support as our sport continues on its Olympic journey,” said Aguerre.
While Coventry’s new role might add momentum to surfing’s Olympic ambitions, there is at least one area where the two parties diverge. Coventry has supported a blanket ban on transgender women competing in women’s Olympic events. The ISA’s policy allows for transgender women to compete in women’s events if they can keep their testosterone below a threshold for 12 months. Coventry is creating a task force to look into the topic.
Regardless of their differences, Coventry as IOC president is a resounding win for surfing. If you could bet on surf politics, I’d say the oddsmakers would increase the probability of the ISA’s demands being met. And regarding surfing’s longer-term status as an Olympic sport, if it wasn’t already secured for the next few editions, I’d say it definitely is now. The Olympic machine seems to understand the value of having surfing on its program, and the sport now has a friend where it matters most.
