Not a woman to mess with

TRAILBLAZER: FIRST FROM AFRICA TO GET TOP POST AT OLYMPIC GOVERNING BODY

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First impressions can be deceptive, but Kirsty Coventry showed that behind a sunny disposition she will have the mettle to deal with the trickiest of people and situations when she succeeds Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today.

Looming large on the horizon of the 41-year-old Zimbabwean – the first woman and African to occupy the post of the most powerful single figure in sport – is US President Donald Trump.

With Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics, Trump will feature often on Coventry's agenda.

Trump has given public dressing downs to world leaders – notably Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Judging by Coventry's initial response, after a crushing first-round victory in the presidential election in March, she may have Trump's measure. "I have been dealing with, let's say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old," she said, adding "communication will be key."

Unlike Trump, Coventry embraces the word failure, for it helped forge her stellar career.

"Everything's scary. Embrace that. You have to fail," Coventry said at her American alma mater Auburn University last year.