Kirsty Coventry says she has "learned the best lessons by failing" and the Zimbabwean swimming great's mantra appears to have served her well after she became the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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

"I've learned the best lessons by failing, and I have failed at many things. Life has a really good way of humbling you."

Failure would seem relative if one takes a look at the 41-year-old's CV.

Coventry, who had the Olympic rings tattooed on a leg after her first Games in 2000, is, like one of her rivals Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic gold medallist.

She contributed seven of Zimbabwe's overall medals tally of eight.

She has proved to be an effective networker since becoming an IOC member in 2013 and is head of the 2032 Brisbane Games Co-ordination Commission -- a sign of the confidence the hierarchy has in her adminstrative and organisational........

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