A special guest for the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (COIB). On Monday, its offices welcomed Kirsty Coventry, and this is not insignificant: it is the first official visit of the IOC's number one to the BOIC since Jacques Rogge – Thomas Bach had come to Brussels many times, but never on an official visit to the national committee.
The Zimbabwean woman met King Philippe at the Royal Palacebefore exchanging with the president of the COIB, Jean-Michel Saiveand its executive director, Cédric Van Branteghem. Spyros Capralos, president of the European Olympic Committees, was also present.
De Koning avantgtt de nieuwe voorzitter van het Internationaal Olympisch Comité, mevr. Kirsty Coventry, in audience. pic.twitter.com/aq05evRgb4
— Belgian Royal Palace (@MonarchieBe) November 17, 2025
« I am very happy to have visited the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC). Jean-Michel, Cédric, and I are all Olympians, and I am I am very happy to see that the Belgian Olympic movement is placing its trust in its former athletes.Coventry said. I was able to attend the impressive presentation about Team Belgium's Olympic Dream. It's great to see the excellent work done by Jean-Michel Saive and his teams. It was also very exciting to hear about the preparations for Milan-Cortina. »
« Kirsty Coventry's visit to the COIB is exceptional in every respect., adds Jean-Michel Saive. This shows that The Olympic Movement is particularly strong in BelgiumWe have already had two Belgian IOC presidents, Henri de Baillet-Latour and, of course, Jacques Rogge. Today, we can still count on the presence of Pierre-Olivier Beckers, former president of the Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC), who is the current IOC vice-president, and on Ingmar De Vos, an IOC member. The Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee (BOIC) is proud to be able to extend Olympic values onto Belgian soil.. »
